Teeth Whitening Safety Measures
Be Careful With Over the Counter Whitening Products
Over the counter whitening products have limited efficacy. There is no ability to customize the treatment for your specific needs and it’s a one size fits all approach. The strength of these products is moderate. Many whitening gels and whitening toothpaste simply have extra abrasives in them to clean off surface food stains but they also WEAR AWAY YOUR ENAMEL!! Professional whitening gels do NOT affect the enamel. Whitening strips often do not completely cover the full tooth surface so many areas are missed and patients have called us saying they have stripes on their teeth like zebras!
The Professional Whitening Method
Professional whitening with the use of custom-made trays is by far the most effective and predictable method of whitening teeth. The customization of the trays allows the whitening gel to properly sit against the full surfaces of your teeth and keep it away from the gums and any areas of gum recession which can be sensitive. Our newest gels only need to be worn for one hour per evening for about two weeks. If you’ve tried bleaching before and have experienced sensitivity, the newer gels have desensitizers in them and we also sometimes first apply prescription strength fluoride gels to “prepare” your teeth for bleaching without sensitivity. . Another way we deal with the sensitivity issue is by prescribing patient’s a less intense concentration of bleaching gel. Instead of giving a patient the strongest bleaching gel which they wear for one hour, we give them a weaker concentration which they keep in for a longer duration. Patients can achieve the exact same results with either concentration of gel! We have many variables that we can control with professional products compared to one size fits all over the counter products.
The Truth About Zoom Whitening
Many patients have asked about in office tooth whitening with a light system like Zoom. These systems have proven to actually be LESS effective than the tray method, painful at times and most patients still needed trays to follow up to achieve maximum results. That is why stores like Brightsmile have all gone out of business and most dentists like us have tossed out their Zoom lights as an experiment gone bad.
Call NYC Smile Spa for a proper evaluation to see if you are a good candidate for professional tooth whitening!
