Information About Over-the-Counter Teeth Whitening Kits

Teeth whitening methods are a growing industry as more and more people try to improve their appearance. While a cosmetic dentist provides the most dramatic improvement in teeth color, professional whitening is an expensive process that is not affordable for most people. Fortunately, there are many low-cost over-the-counter teeth whitening kits available for home use. The different whitening methods give varying degrees of results, but all work to make the teeth whiter by removing stains from the surface enamel.

Types

• There are several types of teeth whiteners. White strips, brush-on gels, whitening pens, whitening mouth trays and laser at home whitening kits. All work by bleaching the stains off of the teeth with a hydrogen based product.

Types

• Whitening strips are thin pieces of paper that are applied to the front of the teeth. A bleaching agent, usually a peroxide based product, is on the strips.

  Brush-on whitening gels use a tiny brush to paint the gel on each teeth. The Make My Teeth Whiter website reports that whitening pens are similar to brush-on gels in form and function.

  With whitening mouth trays, the kit includes a device to make an impression of the teeth. Once the mold hardens, you place the whitening gel in the tray. You then place the tray over the teeth.

  According to the website Home Laser Teeth Whitening Kits, "A home laser teeth whitening kit consists of a plasma arc light, a tray to fit around your teeth, a syringe to inject gel into the tray, and the hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide gel itself."

Time Frame

• The whitening strips are applied and left on the teeth for 30 minutes twice each day. For two weeks you use the strips.

  The brush-on gels are also used twice a day for one to two weeks. Whitening pens have a similar timeframe to that of brush-on gels.

  Whitening mouth trays are left on for one hour to three hours, depending on the product. Some whitening trays are left on overnight. Some mouth trays are used for up to 30 days.

  For laser whitening kits, leave the mouth tray on for 30 minutes each day for one week.

Benefits

• In general, white strips offer a good whitening treatment. The website Make My Teeth Whiter says that brush-on gels offer the least effective teeth whitening method. Whitening pens provide good whitening results. Whitening trays are among the best teeth whitening methods on the market, and using lasers is one of the best ways to accelerate the whitening process.

Considerations

• Whitening strips are almost invisible so you can wear them without being self-conscious. Using brush-on gels is time consuming and, according to Make My Teeth Whiter website, the gels taste terrible. According to the Make My Teeth Whiter website, whitening pens are "much more precise, faster, with no bad taste, and higher quality whitening ingredients." Using whitening trays achieves excellent whitening results. But if the tray does not fit properly, the whitening can be spotty.

  In the past, lasers were only used by dentists. But now there are laser treatment kits for home use. These kits range in price from $25 to almost $200.