There are hundreds of products out there which you can buy off the shelf, whitening toothpaste, pens, strips, all sorts! All promise a big bright smile after using them.

With so many out there and all easily accessible, where do you even begin? There is a product for every price range but how do you know any of them work?

Well, they don’t!

Shop bought products may give you a small difference or a quick fix to whiter teeth, but if you want a real, safe and long-term difference to the colour of your teeth, then please consider seeing a professional.

Why do off the shelf products not work?

  1. The amount of active ingredient is not enough – this is the main reason why these types of products do not work. Hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide (bleaching agents) is the active ingredient that whitens your teeth and in over-the-counter dental products they are only legally allowed to have 0.1% hydrogen peroxide (or 0.3% carbamide peroxide) which is too little to have any noticeable effect.
  2. There is no active ingredient – some of these products do not even contain Hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, so it’s not going to whiten your teeth. If the products remove surface stains, they are normally made up of quite abrasive material that may wear the enamel away. This will give you a whiter smile in the short term but will badly damage your teeth if you keep using them. You can’t grow back enamel!
  3. They are unsafe – it is possible to buy whitening treatments online that have higher doses of active ingredients, however this is because they are unregulated and illegal. If the concentration is too strong, there are high risks to using the products, and we strongly advise against this. Using them can cause irreparable damage to your teeth and gums. If you buy a product online that comes with a tray, this tray will not be custom made for your mouth, therefore the bleach will leak out of the tray and cause very painful blistering and sensitivity to your teeth.

 

Professional tooth whitening treatments are safe and effective

Coming in to see one of our hygienists will give us a good idea of your overall oral health and help us tailor your treatment plan to you.

It could be that you need to come for regular hygiene visits where our hygienists will give your teeth a full scale & polish, we could also recommend small cosmetic changes such as composite bonding.

If you would like a professional tooth whitening kit we will take an impression of your teeth and make a custom fitted mouth tray. This will retain all the gel and be a comfortable fit in your mouth, our whitening gel is also 6% hydrogen peroxide which is for more effective than off the shelf products.

Our tooth whitening kits start at £250, but they are FREE if you sign up to one of our monthly dental plans. Our monthly dental plans start from £10.99 per month.

If you would like more information visit our website or call our reception team on 0191 259 6506.