Professional vs. Do It Yourself Teeth Whitening

In the past, people who wanted to whiten their teeth had to go to their dentists because before there was a lack of home teeth whitening kits. Also, many people thought that only dentists had the right tools, equipment and expertise to perform this type of teeth treatment. Now there is an abundance of various teeth whitening kits that people can apply themselves at home. However, the debate still exists if you are looking into whitening your teeth - should you do it professionally by visiting your dentist or do it yourself personally by going to your local drug store or grocery store and purchasing a home kit. There are many factors to consider: the relatively expensive procedure provided by the dentist vs. a home kit that sells for around $20 and the effectiveness of the professional and advanced technology and equipment at the dentist' office vs. using plastic molds and trays that you make yourself at home.

This very expensive procedure also involved a multi step approach. Step one: Your dentist would create a personalized mold of your mouth. Step two: You then wait the typical ten days for your dentist to receive this custom fitted mouth molding back from his special lab. Step three: go and visit the dentist and sit in a comfortable recliners for one to two hours with the molds in your mouth filled with a peroxide solution. Step four: Repeat step three , anywhere from two to three more times. Step five: Schedule a "touch up" in six months and step six: leave the dental office with whiter teeth, and a very expensive bill to try and pay off within six months, so you can repeat the cycle all over again.

We now have four methods available to us. The traditional dental visit as described in detail above, or the economic do it yourself approach, with three different alternatives - the plastic moldings that you form and fill yourself, the brush on approach, and then you have the paste strips. Keep in mind that you need to be concerned about one factor far important than just the price tag for any one of the alternatives and that is the ingredients.

The common main ingredient in all approaches is hydrogen peroxide. Even the Britesmile procedure uses a peroxide gel combined with their blue light treatment. Teeth whitening is achieved by the peroxide letting oxygen into the enamel and it then bleaches the colored substances. This is how it all works. But, some approaches use alcohol and glycerin. The reason for the alcohol is to dry the brushed on gel so it stays on teeth. The mouth contains saliva and makes it hard for the gel to stay on. The alcohol can actually cause bad breath and is bad for your gums. Then you have the glycerin based products. Glycerin is harmless on it own. But mixed with the peroxide it actually dries out the tooth enamel and literary causes the sensitivity that so many have with teeth whitening.

Whichever method you choose, whether it is the professional or do it yourself method, considering other factors besides just the cost and fee is essential.