The first thing to say is that teeth whitening procedures in general are not appropriate for everybody. It pays to seek professional advice before you begin any whitening treatment. Your dentist will be able to clarify which of the many options are suitable for you. Some of them might not work on your teeth.

The dilemma that people face is the perceived added safety of having a procedure carried out professionally by a dentist, against the possible major cost saving of a home treatment. Will the home teeth whitening product be safe and will it be as effective to use? How easy is it to follow the instructions and if you do, are any side effects possible? What are the pros and cons?

In order to provide a safe, over the counter products for home use, the whitening gel is of a lower concentration than you would get from a professional treatment. The what are the results, how fast and how long lasting? But there is also a sort of conspiracy theory, that refutess this.

Do unscrupulous manufacturers add more of the bleaching agent than they admit to, so that their product will work? It has been suggested that abrasive materials are added that could damage the tooth enamel. I think that neither of these theories can be believed. As long as you stick to properly licensed products you should be safe. The penalties for such practices, from major fines and lawsuits, to withdrawal of the product license, would be too costly to contemplate.

Good companies do extensive clinical tests before they will put their products onto the market. With a quick search on their websites, you can read the results of these trials, and you can even follow the links back to the original research documents. It would also impact their bottom line and their reputation, to make claims that they cannot back up with evidence.

The usual method is to wear a tray over your teeth containing the gel, for half an hour to an hour. Maybe this is not uncomfortable, but it is a bind and you probably won't do it for much longer than the recommended time to any great extent. There are some products intended for overnight use and some companies boast of how long their gel remains active, compared to inferior rivals.

You will more likely be wearing the tray when the tray when the gel has become ineffective, than that you will suffer any side effects from over use. We can safely state that these products are thought of as safe. Another question is, could you get the same benefits that you would from a couple of visits to the dentist.

It would be very unwise for companies to make claims that they could not substantiate. After all, if these products were ineffective, there are millions of users who would be letting them know. The question is how good are the results, how fast and how long lasting?Two visits to your dentist and you are done. You go home with your new, gleaming smile. And with good aftercare, it might last for up to 15 years, but it could be as short as 5.

Some of the home teeth gel treatments claim a noticeable difference after only one hour and that with repeated treatments that you can reach the same levels on the dental comparison charts that you would get from professional whitening. And they could last just as long. So, are they a worthwhile alternative?

It is always worth getting professional advice, but a home methods are definitely worth thinking about. And of course, as well as over the counter products, your dentist can supply you with a customised solution.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Healthy Living Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.