At-Home Vs. Professional Teeth Whitening
More than 92% of adults agree that an attractive smile is an important social asset. How do people define an attractive smile? White, straight, even teeth. People spend bundles of money trying to fix their teeth, and when it helps you get a date or secure a new job, it is money well spent. When it comes to straightening your teeth, you can't very well do that on your own. On the other hand, you can whiten teeth at home. The question remains, though: should you?
Home Whitening Kits
At-home whitening kits, such as pens, can be used to apply a peroxide gel to your teeth. A pen is a good choice because it will give you a high level of control, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about the whitening gel getting on your gums and irritating them. This gel creates oxides, which help to bleach teeth. Sounds simple enough, right? The problem is that such gels take a while to act—up to two weeks. Thus, you need to plan well in advance to make sure your teeth are pearly white for important moments in your life. Whatever you do to whiten your teeth should not cause you pain. A final drawback is that if you are not using your whitening according to the directions, you can hurt your gums or teeth.
Professional Whitening Services
If you want quick, pain-free results, then you should go to a dentist to have your teeth whitened. Dentists, like those at Dillon Family Dental PLLC, will use UV light and targeted lasers to create enhanced whitening. As you can imagine, such services will cost more than an at-home kit, but you will get better results. If you have deep stains, you will only get good results by going to a professional. A second benefit is that a dentist or dental assistant will know how to properly apply the whitening treatments, so the risk of damaging your teeth or irritating your gums is reduced. Finally, a professional-grade whitening treatment should give you noticeable results in just one hour.
Drinking coffee, drinking wine, smoking—these are all activities that can stain your teeth. To keep your teeth nice and white, you don't have to necessarily stop these activities, but you need to do something to preserve the white color of your teeth. For the best, most consistent results, professional whitening is the way to go, but you can touch up between professional whitenings with an at-home whitening product as needed.
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