I’ve been a big proponent of the different teeth whitening techniques that are only available in the dentist office. This is mainly because of the expediency of the process, but at some point sooner than later I’ve found that those of us who choose this route will need additional treatments. This can be an extremely costly proposition, and I’m determined to stop the financial bleeding, and whitening teeth at home is the best means to ensure I save money I don’t have to spend.
Now before I go into what products I prefer and seem to give me good results, there are quite a few long term dietary changes that I’ve made to a sure that when I to perform whitening, the effects last longer rendering the need for treatments less frequently. Like many people I’m an all-day coffee drinker, and sitting in a cubicle all day does nothing to quell the desire to constantly sip coffee until the end of the workday. Simply cutting the coffee intake to one cup a day, I’ve noticed a great change in between teeth whitening treatments. I’ve also managed to stay away from soda, as well as chewing sugarless gum, and staying away from foodstuffs that have artificial dyes and high sugar contents.
Now, it’s easy to go to your local drugstore and pick up a tree style whitening kit to use when whitening teeth at home. The downside to using these kits is the concentration of peroxide that is present, is downright anemic when compared to the treatments you can receive at the dentist office. Home teeth bleaching kits often contain only 10% peroxide within the bleaching gel that sits inside the tray. This is pretty much the norm for anything over-the-counter, and ensures that companies who make these kits are on the hook for misuse of the product which often leads to overly sensitive teeth and gums.
The way to obtain a higher strength product is probably my favorite way to shop anyway, and that is to purchase the whitening kit from an online retailer. By buying online, you’re able to find whitening kits that contain close to the full 44% peroxide present in the jails used at the dentist office. The difference in whitening teeth at home is that you won’t have access to the special lasers, and heating agents your dentist would use to further enhance and accelerate the whitening of your teeth.
That leads us to some of my favorite products which vary from simple whitening toothpaste, to complete kits that have custom multiple mouthpieces that allow for maximum penetration and application to your teeth for efficient whitening. The 3M Bright and White Kit that the more expensive end of the spectrum for home kit costing approximately $116, but containing a pretty high concentrate of carbamide peroxide at 16%.
On the low end and often forgotten spectrum of whitening products, we have the Crest 3-D white strips which it $39.99 are highly affordable as well is effective when used correctly. They are also highly effective in testing the sensitivity of people who fear they may have pain due to whitening treatments. There are also a number of non-name brand kits that use the mouthguard system distributed with a syringe, that have extremely high concentrations of carbamide peroxide for under $40 per kit. Again if used correctly these kits are just as effective as the more expensive namebrand units at a fraction of the cost.
The kit that’s right for you will depend on your budget and a level of sensitivity you have to these particular products. If you just want to get your toes wet in the world of whitening teeth at home, then it may be a good idea to start with Crest White Strips and after a few days you can move onto another treatment what you get used to the process. I personally been testing out quite a few of these and they’ve all been very effective, in particular keep me out of the dentist office and saving money big time. Don’t forget that you probably need to make a couple dietary changes as noted above and you’ll be on your way to getting those pearly whites shining bright in no time.