What You Need to Know About Teeth Whitening

Lots of people crave a brighter smile, and there's certainly no shortage of teeth whitening treatments out there. But if you're serious about lightening your teeth, you'll approach the task properly. If you're considering buying teeth whitening products online, you need to know why it's always better to see a cosmetic dentist instead.

Protecting Your Enamel

Your enamel isn't something you can grow back. Once you damage it, you may change the way your teeth look and feel forever. Although there are lots of natural teeth whitening products out there, you shouldn't fall into the trap of believing they won't cause harm.

Take charcoal toothpaste, for example. It's highly abrasive, which means it's likely to remove some surface stains. At the same time, it could chip away at your enamel and leave you with weaker teeth. In contrast, your dentist will take the right steps towards keeping your enamel safe.

Using the Right Active Ingredients

In order to successfully whiten your teeth, you need hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. Some over-the-counter whitening products may contain small concentrations of them. However, those concentrations aren't high enough to brighten your teeth.

When you visit a cosmetic dentist for an in-chair treatment, they'll prescribe the right concentration, and they'll keep you safe while using it. It's also important to know that any high concentration products you find online could cause damage to your gums. In contrast, when your dentist creates a custom tray for you, the whitening solution won't leak out and damage the soft tissues in your mouth.

Protecting Your Oral Health

Although whitening your teeth is a cosmetic procedure, you do need to have a good state of oral health before doing it. Your dentist will screen you for conditions such as gum disease. If they find such conditions, they'll recommend that you only proceed with teeth whitening once they're resolved.

Turning to an untrained practitioner means you're less likely to detect oral health problems before your treatment takes place. As a result, you could damage the soft tissues in your mouth.

Topping up at Home Can Be Safe

You can ask your dentist about using top-up treatments at home. While some will provide additional whitening solutions with personalised trays, others offer whitening pens. As they're all provided under the guidance of a dentist, they're safe for you to use.

When proceeding with teeth whitening, it's always better to keep yourself safe. The easiest way to do that is to use a trained dental professional.