The best teeth whitening products have long term effects that take time to achieve. While it may be tempting to visit your dentist and have your teeth zapped whiter in less than an hour, the dramatic effects won't last very long. Super-fast bleaching will make your teeth super-white for about a week by oxidizing the stains and dehydrating your teeth. Over the next week your teeth will relax and return to their normally-hydrated state, and they will darken to almost their original color.
So if a power-bleaching at the dentist won't give you lasting pearly whites, what will? The best teeth whitening products work little by little, over the course of several weeks, to remove stains caused by age and other factors. Yellow stains are the easiest to remove; these are usually the result of smoking or drinking red wine, coffee, and tea. If you take the antibiotic tetracycline, your teeth may be stained gray or even bluish. You definitely want to see a dentist for non-yellow stains. Happily, most people who want whiter teeth just have the normal yellow stains to deal with.
Home teeth whitening products come in a wide variety but are basically all the same concept involving hydrogen peroxide. The big exception is whitening toothpaste, which uses abrasive agents to literally scrub the stains off your teeth. Toothpaste has the big advantage of being something you use daily, so you can keep seeing results even if you don't quit smoking or give up your morning cup of coffee.
The best teeth whitening products are the ones that stay on your teeth as long as possible each time you use them. There are whitening mouthwashes available, but dentists say these don't work very well because you only swish them around your mouth for a minute or two each day. Teeth whitening strips or overnight teeth whitening trays are a better bet because they keep the peroxide on your teeth for 30 minutes or more each time you use them.
Some people have had problems with overnight whitening products, especially the ones that involve plastic trays that fit over your teeth. Part of the problem is the fact that hydrogen peroxide is a pretty harsh chemical, and it can burn your gums when allowed to touch them for too long. If you have already experienced this problem or want to avoid it, you may want to stick with teeth whitening strips, toothpastes, or tray-less gel systems. Another problem with all-night whitening trays is poor fit. This can not only hurt your mouth, it can also keep the peroxide gel from staying where it needs to be. Poorly-fitted trays are uncomfortable and ineffective at their worst.
You can combine in-office tooth whitening procedures with the best teeth whitening products at home. Some dentists will make you a custom-fitted tray for you to wear when whitening your teeth at home. This gives you the best of both worlds, with the comfort and effectiveness of a fitted tray and the convenience and cost savings of home treatment.
