Teeth Whitening Strips

When to choose for teeth whitening strips? If your teeth are not badly stained, you may want to try using this type of teeth whitening in order to remove the stains before they get worse.

Aside from being cheaper than procedures you can get at a dental office, you can easily use these strips in your own home.

As an added bonus, if you start using whitening strips before your teeth get too discolored, you may not need to undergo more complicated procedures offered by your dentist.

Convenient and Easy to Use

As you may be aware, there are several different types of OTC teeth whitening treatments. When you use whitening strips, you will not need to worry about trying to mix and apply liquid ingredients.

Even though this makes things considerably easier, you will run a higher risk of developing gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. If you can avoid letting the strips touch your gums, then you should not have these problems.

What are Teeth Whitening Strips?

Basically, a whitening strip is a thin, flexible piece of plastic. One side of the strip is coated with a bleaching agent. Most manufacturers make use of Hydrogen Peroxide. You will usually receive two strips in the kit. One is for your upper teeth, and the other for the bottom ones.

In order to use teeth whitening strips, all you will need to do is place them on your teeth for two half hour sessions each day.

You will need to use them for approximately 2 weeks in order to achieve maximum results. Typically, you will be able to wear whitening strips without anyone realizing they are in your mouth.

What are the Advantages?

Since you won't be trying to apply gels, you won't need to worry about the bleaching agent touching your gums. Therefore, you will not need to wear a mouth guard.

This, in turn, means that you will not wind up gagging, or experiencing other discomforts commonly associated with these appliances.

Many people also find that teeth whitening strips tend to cause less stress to the jaw joints. As may be expected, if you have TMJ or similar disorders, it will always be to your advantage to prevent your jaws from becoming irritated.

What are the Disadvantages of Using Teeth Whitening Strips?

As a general rule of thumb, liquid teeth whitening systems tend to be more effective. You will also notice that teeth whitening strips do not create an exact fit around your teeth.

Therefore, curved parts are likely to remain stained. If your teeth have a good bit of curvature to them, you may find that very little of the tooth area gets whitened. As may be expected, this can produce results that won't make you very happy.

That said, if you are primarily interested in having your front teeth whitened, their flatter surface may be fully covered by teeth whitening strips.

When you use teeth whitening strips, your teeth will begin to show signs of staining again in 6 months to a year.

Even though these kits usually cost $15.00, you may want to go with more expensive liquid based kits. In many cases, liquid systems will work better, and keep your teeth looking whiter almost twice as long.

Some Additional Things to Consider

• Even though teeth whitening can create an enormous improvement in your smile, not all stains will respond to bleaching. Therefore, you may need to see your dentist in order to gain access to procedures that will whiten materials below the enamel layer.



• Yellow stains tend to respond best to bleaching. Gray spots caused by excess fluoride tend to be resistant to bleaching. Decalcified white spots usually become more prominent as opposed to becoming duller.



• Stains will always return at some point. That said, if you avoid foods that tend create stains, your teeth will look white for a much longer period of time.



• Most people do not have any major side effects when using bleaching processes. You may develop some tooth sensitivity right after the procedure. This problem usually subsides in a few days. If you still have sensitivity, you should stop using the whitening agent and alert your dentist. Unfortunately, if peroxide is absorbed too deeply into the enamel layer of your tooth, it may touch a nerve and cause increased sensitivity.



• You should have all cavities filled and treated prior to using a teeth whitening system. If you do not take this precaution, there is an increased chance that bleaching agents will seep into the tooth and damage nerve tissue. This can lead to sensitive teeth that will need to be treated with more complicated dental procedures.
  
• Pregnant women should never use teeth whitening systems, as bleaching agents can cause damage to the fetus.

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