Do Home Teeth Whitening (Or Ask Your Dentist)?
Should you ask your dentist to do your whiten
dental apex locator your teeth, or should you do your own home teeth whitening? Here are 5 comparisons that should help you decide:
For a start, the home teeth whitening product that you buy usually has lower-strength bleach (in a dentist's office, the hydrogen peroxide content of the bleach will probably
dental lab equipment be at least 5 times higher, and could be many times more than that.)
Mouthpiece trays: When your dentist is doing the whitening, he will take an impression of your teeth, and from this he will make a tray that will be an exact match. The advantage of this is that it will maximise the contact that the gel has with your teeth. It will also
dental articulator ensure that the gel will have minimum contact with your gums. But if you buy an over-the-counter tray, it will most likely be a "one size fits all" type of tray. The gel's contact with your teeth will not be nearly as good with this type of tray. Another
air syringe disadvantage is that more gel will be allowed to seep on to your gums, causing irritation.
In the dentist's office, you will be given extra protection from such irritation. This will either be a rubber shield which slides over your teeth (which is for the purpose of protecting your gums and any cavities that you have), or it could be a gel that is applied to the gums before the bleaching operation. With the "DIY" home teeth whitening product, you don't get this
dental handpiece protection.
The over-the-counter products need to be applied as a long-term strategy (this could mean that you do this for 1 to 2 hours each night for a month). But if you are getting the whitening done at the dentist's, the process will be completed in a much shorter time. The reasons for this is that the gel with the high bleach content will be applied to your teeth. Then, using a
dental equipment special light, or heat, or even a laser beam, the process is greatly accelerated and you could see results in half an hour or an hour. It won't be completely finished (you will still need more appointments) but you will start to see progress from the first session. If you choose to go the homemade route, progress will be much more gradual and there may be little or no improvement after the first session.
This is the main attraction of using the home whitening kit). Over-the-counter systems can be bought for as little as $20 but the dentist will charge from $150 to $300.