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Professional Teeth Whitening VS Over-The-Counter Whitening

Professional Teeth Whitening VS Over-The-Counter Whitening

Teeth whitening is one of the easiest ways to improve your overall appearance. Smiles that are bright white are generally associated with beauty, proper self-care, and good overall health, which makes teeth whitening treatments and products even more popular. However, with so many whitening products available at your local drugstore, many adults wonder if professional whitening treatments truly outperform the white-strips, pastes, and rinses they can purchase over the counter.

Over-the-Counter Teeth Whitening

Visit your local drugstore, and you’ll find an overwhelming amount of teeth whitening kits. Most of them contain advertisements with lofty promises like extra strength, easier treatment, and faster whitening. But those that have tried these kits will likely tell you that they didn’t live up to expectations.

At-home kits contain bleaching agents that can remove surface and deeper stains, similar to what professional whitening technology uses. The significant difference is that the dentist uses a higher concentration of chemicals over a briefer amount of time, while at-home kits use a low concentration of chemicals over an extended period of time.

It can take weeks or even months to achieve whitening goals at home, while results only last one-two weeks. This can be disappointing if you have an upcoming event or desire long-lasting white teeth. In the end, some people even end up spending more on failed at-home whitening treatments over a longer period then making a quick trip to the dentist.

Pros:

  • Affordable alternative to professional whitening
  • Available at your convenience

Cons:

  • No guarantee that it is the right whitening option for you
  • Takes time to achieve whitening goals
  • Results are not long-lasting
  • Exposed gums can become irritated by whitening solution
  • No professional cleaning prior to whitening treatment
  • No dental professional supervision

Professional Whitening Solutions

It’s easy to think that teeth whitening is a simple process, but that’s simply not true. To get immediate and long-lasting teeth whitening results, you will need professional grade methods and products like the ones that we use at Green Tree Dental.

Why is teeth whitening such a precise practice? At first glance, the methods and ingredients seem the same. But there are some things that an at-home teeth-whitening kit just can’t replicate.

The Right Ingredients

If you have spent any time exploring teeth whitening options, then you know that hydrogen peroxide is an effective ingredient for brightening teeth. As it breaks down into water and oxygen, it is effective in removing stains from the surface of teeth.

Over-the-counter whitening kits, on the other hand, contain a very different active ingredient: carbamide peroxide. This is similar to hydrogen peroxide, only with stabilizing agents. Hydrogen peroxide is quickly broken down by heat, light, and even saliva before it has a chance to be effective, making it difficult to use at home.

Although carbamide is a considerably safer bleaching agent for at home use, it doesn’t quite give the results that most users are looking for. This is primarily an issue with potency: a 10% carbamide peroxide solution only contains between 3 and 4 percent hydrogen peroxide – the ingredient that whitens your teeth!

Carbamide first has to break down into urea before the hydrogen peroxide can efficiently do its job. The result? A whitening agent that produces weak results and doesn’t last as long.

Professional treatments, on the other hand, contain anywhere from 25% to 40% hydrogen peroxide, and are used with a special light to speed up the process and guarantee lasting results.

The Proper Equipment

Traditional at-home whitening involves a wearable tray and peroxide gel that you enter into your mouth. The tray works to hold the gel to your teeth so that the substance can do its job. But does this method really work like it’s supposed to?

There are several issues with traditional tray whitening. One of the triggers for the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide we mentioned above is saliva. Even self-forming whitening trays weren’t designed specifically for your mouth, meaning that plenty of salivae can get in and compromise the solution, making the weak solution even less efficient than before.

Without a professional application or custom-designed whitening tray, your teeth won’t be completely sealed from the rest of your mouth, and you simply won’t get the results you are expecting. When you visit our Green Tree Dental office, we can build trays from an exact impression of your mouth, in addition to giving you a professional custom-designed whitening application. When your teeth are safe from saliva, you allow your whitening gel to do its job without any interference.

An Effective Treatment

Purchasing a drugstore teeth-bleaching kit is a one size fits all solution. This means that you are getting a whitening treatment that was designed for anyone. At Green Tree Dental, we don’t think this is good enough. The stains on your teeth are unique to your mouth and getting your very best results means finding a custom solution that is the best fit for your individual needs.

Each of the whitening treatments we offer at Green Tree Dental is customized to your exact needs. Our in-office whitening is fast, convenient, and modified to meet your treatment goals. Our take-home kits come with custom trays in a variety of strengths to tackle each and every type of stain.

A professional 15-minute session can whiten your teeth up to seven shades. After just 45 minutes of whitening you can walk out with a noticeably whiter smile!

Pros:

  • Fast and results in less than an hour
  • Safe and effective
  • Long-lasting results
  • Dental professional supervision
  • Proven results

Cons:

  • Pricier than drugstore products
  • Dental consultation and appointment required

Reliable, Faster, and Long-Lasting Treatment from the Pro’s

Your smile is your best asset. Why not make this the year that you love to show it off? At Green Tree Dental, we offer the latest and most advanced whitening solutions to achieve your smile goals. Give us a call to talk to a professional about teeth whitening solutions today, and start your journey to a better smile.

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