There are a whole plethora of different techniques to whiten teeth, some of them available from your dentist, others not… Some of them work, whilst others have a more dubious background. These are the different types of teeth whitening that many people search for online.
- Teeth whitening kits
- Teeth whitening strips
- Teeth whitening toothpaste
- Laser teeth whitening
- Charcoal teeth whitening
- Coconut oil teeth whitening
- Teeth whitening with toothpastes
Teeth whitening kits
The best teeth whitening kits available of those available from your dentist. But why is this so?
Teeth whitening at the dentist uses a higher concentration peroxide gel which is only available on prescription from a dentist. This peroxide whitening gel will whiten your teeth faster and lighter than any other whitening kit or system. Your dentist will also make highly customised whitening trays into which the gel in placed. These trays will be customised to fit your mouth precisely and ensure there is a seal around the tooth/gum margin. This seal prevents the gel from touching your delicate gums and ensures it stays on your teeth.
Teeth whitening strips
Teeth whitening strips are available from many places online, they can work in some cases but because the level of peroxide will be limited its whitening ability will also be reduced. One must also be very careful to keep the strips solely on the teeth and not have too much of them on the delicate gum area.
Laser teeth whitening
Rather than use peroxide to remove the microscopic staining within your teeth some dental practices use lasers. Later teeth whitening can work extremely effectively to whitening your teeth in one appointment. For this reason laser teeth whitening is often used as a rapid teeth whitening system but because of the high level investment required is often more expensive than other forms of whitening.
Charcoal teeth whitening
The Oral Health Foundation took a look into the effectiveness and safety of charcoal tooth whitening toothpastes and have since suggested that there is very little evidence to suggest that charcoal teeth whitening works. Whilst this may be increasingly popular as an alternative (and possibly cheaper option) to conventional teeth whitening at the dentist you may find it’s a complete waste of money if nothing happens at all. At the very worst, The Oral Health Foundation found that the charcoal whitening toothpastes may actually be harmful as they do not contain sufficient levels of fluoride which is used to prevent tooth decay.
Whilst you may see celebrities endorsing charcoal teeth whitening, one would need to question whether they have actually had professional dentist teeth whitening prior to their endorsement.
Coconut oil teeth whitening
We will leave this firmly in the same description as charcoal teeth whitening. There is no evidence to suggest that coconut teeth whitening works and indeed, it may be harmful as many of the toothpastes do not contain adequate levels of fluoride.
Teeth whitening toothpastes
Conventional over-the-counter teeth whitening toothpastes can lighten teeth slightly. They often do this by being more abrasive than regular toothpastes thereby being able to remove more surface stain. Teeth whitening toothpastes do not contain enough peroxide to be able to whiten teeth as much as regular whitening at the dentist. Whenever using a whitening toothpaste we always recommend ensuring that it has at least 1350-1500 ppm (parts per million) of fluoride.
This blog post was written by Senova Dental Studios, your local dentist in Watford
A graduate of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Dental school, Dr Padayachy has been a dentist at the award winning Senova Dental Studios in Watford since 1998 focusing on comprehensive restorative and cosmetic dentistry.
Jay has previously been the president of The London Dental Fellowship.
He has been a member of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry since its inception and serves on the Credentialing committee. Jay has lectured widely on all aspects of cosmetic dentistry, dental photography and comprehensive care.
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