If you’re unimpressed with the shade of your smile, you might be weighing all of your options for whitening your teeth and giving them an impressive new glow. But with so many possible options lining store shelves these days, how can you possibly know which products are safe and effective for personal use? The fact is, most of these products can’t deliver on their promises to whiten your smile; however, your cosmetic dentist certainly can! Keep reading to learn more about which store-bought products you should steer clear of, along with the proper way to go about enhancing your smile’s appearance.
Whitening Products That Don’t Live Up to Their Hype
If you’ve recently walked down the personal care aisle at the store, you might’ve noticed the seemingly endless number of oral hygiene products on display. But the fact is, even though there are all kinds of different items that claim to do different things such as whitening your smile, you shouldn’t put too much faith in them to provide you with impressive, lasting results.
Here are some examples of products that might seem worthwhile, but are ultimately worth avoiding:
- Whitening toothpaste –Although these products might have the right type of chemical composition, they aren’t in contact with your teeth long enough to be effective. Very few dentists recommend using them since they often have little to no lasting effect.
- Whitening strips – It’s true that these items use similar components as professional systems used by dentists (though at lower concentrations). When using these products, you should be mindful of side effects like increased sensitivity or mouth sores. Custom whitening trays are often the better, more comfortable option compared to these strips—plus they have the added benefit of professional supervision!
- Hydrogen peroxide – Many dentists strongly advise against the myth of rinsing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide to whiten your smile, as it can potentially harm your soft mouth tissues.
- Natural whitening remedies – Some people swear by the effectiveness of at-home methods like lemon juice or activated charcoal; but many of these trends expose your teeth to high levels of acid erosion or enamel abrasion!
Why Professional Teeth Whitening Is the Answer
Simply put, nothing can beat the results your dentist can provide! Although professional whitening is often more expensive than store-bought alternatives, you’re paying for lasting results that are delivered in a safe, supervised, and effective manner.
Most dentists typically offer in-office whitening, which is performed during a single visit with professional-grade equipment, or at-home whitening, in which they send you home with the means to whiten your teeth yourself over the course of a few weeks. Although both methods differ in how they’re executed, they can each noticeably whiten your smile by several shades.
You won’t have to deal with the hassle of buying and trying out various whitening products, the lack of professional supervision, or the tendency to experience unimpressive or even worsened results. Your dentist is the expert on anything and everything relating to oral care—meaning that visiting them is absolutely the best option for having your teeth whitened!
About the Practice
The team at Caring Way Dentistry is honored to serve the dental needs of patients and families in the Port Charlotte, FL community. The practice is led by Dr. Bryan Villescas, who received his DDS from the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. They’re thrilled to offer a wide range of cosmetic services including teeth whitening! If you have any questions about the article or would like to schedule a visit, you’re welcome to contact the practice online or by phone for further assistance: (941) 627-9900.