You have two main choices when it comes down to having white teeth, you can choose either a dental office whitening or a home teeth whitening, where with careful use you can whiten teeth safely.

Now the important part - you can achieve the same results that your dentist can by using the ‘correct’ type of home teeth whitening kit.

So lets look at the main differences between the two options:-

• Patient History
• Whitening Trays
• Time
• Whitening Gels
 

Dental Office Teeth Whitening

Since the dentist sees the patient more regularly  they have knowledge of the clients teeth. Dentists are highly qualified and offer a wide range of treatments to help maintain a good oral care plan.

Time - Originally (way back in the 90′s) the dentist would prepare impressions of the patients teeth, which once they had been sent away and made into ‘whitening’ trays’ were and still are an exact replica of each tooth impression.

From this point the dentist would add regulated but low concentrated amounts of either carbamide or hydrogen peroxide to each tooth impression in the tray. The patient would then would sit in the dental office for 1-2 hours.

After 3 or 4 visits your dentists would declare your teeth whiter and you would have a nice set of pearly whites and a bill for about £1000 - the cost of teeth!

Fortunately things have moved on since then and nowadays a dentist professional will offer the patient a “power bleaching” process which is much quicker.

Here you have applied to your teeth a higher percentage of bleaching agent, and you sit with your mouth open for about an hour with a blue / laser light shining on your teeth (also referred to as Argon).

This light is thought to react with the chemical process (bleaching) to speed up the whitening. However recent studies indicate that this is not the case and indeed the “light” does not speed up the process and is thought to lead to tooth dehydrations

Now this faster process does work, however any reputable dentist will tell you that it is in fact the tooth being in constant contact with whitening agent that bleaches or whitens the tooth.

The downside is that you are still going to get a hefty bill for the dentists time and you will need to come back again in 6 months. Alternatively you may have been given some take home ‘top up’ syringes which you can use your self with the whitening trays (supplied by your dentist at a further cost).

At Home Teeth Whitening

Teeth Bleaching Gels / Trays & Crest Whitening Strips - This is where it gets interesting.

In the main, most home teeth whitening kits from the leading manufacturers of high quality carbamide and hydrogen peroxide will whiten your teeth back to their natural shade.

Further, these home teeth whitening kits are available, either from your dentist or over the counter / online.

Unfortunately this has taken a huge chunk of revenue and profit out of the dental industry – hence the claim and counter claim whether this procedure should be a dental or cosmetic procedure.

The main reason in the past for the added cost of a dental teeth bleaching was the technical side and time in producing the whitening trays, and this was fair enough, however things have moved on since then.

Today with new and more modern technology you can produce your own thermo shrink, teeth whitening tray, which is of a very high standard in your own home.

There is now evidence to suggest that the use of a ‘light’ does not speed up the process of tooth bleaching, and indeed some reports indicate the increase of tooth dehydration and other possible side affects when doing so. These reports are not yet conclusive.

Now that we have reviewed the key components of a “whitening” process what does that mean, well:-

1. It takes 2 minutes to make your own whitening trays – saving you about and hour in treatment time with no reduction in quality.
2. The light offers nothing more than ‘more chair time’ and added cost
3. The whitening gels are the same

Summary

Trays with bleaching gels still provide the best combination of the most affordable and most efficient teeth whitening available however you now have another alternative with Crest White Strips.

The difference is simply the application method (strip v whitening tray) and the type of peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is used in Crest Whitening Strips and in the main Carbamide peroxide in the whitening tray version, although some kits do use hydrogen peroxide.

The active ingredient in both is hydrogen peroxide.

The bottom line is that having your teeth whitened either by your dentist or by completing a teeth whitening from home with an OTC kit is generally safe with sensible use, and following all manufacturers instructions.

The ingredients either at the dentist or with an OTC kit are the same, the quality of the whitening trays are as good as dental versions and you have the flexibility of time, convenience, ease of use and of course cost savings.

Crest White Strips offer a slightly different alternative that are even more convenient than a whitening tray version, however the results are generally the same and it is down to personal preference and lifestyle.