Little White Lie #1
The Lie: Whitening toothpastes are highly effective at whitening your teeth.
The Truth: Obviously, you should brush your teeth. You can even use whitening toothpaste if you like; however, you’ll be disappointed if you expect these products to be able to whiten your teeth on their own. While brushing is essential to maintaining dental health and hygiene, it won’t whiten your teeth even if you do use one of the many whitening toothpastes on the market for one very simple reason. The whitening agents used in these whitening toothpastes simply aren’t in contact with your teeth long enough to really produce any kind of noticeable results.
Your saliva prevents the whitening agents in these toothpastes from being in contact long enough to do any real good in terms of tooth whitening. The active ingredients in these toothpastes are also usually present in such low concentrations that even if they did spend enough time in contact with your teeth, they still wouldn’t be terribly effective. They’re a great idea, but whitening toothpastes really don’t do anything that regular toothpastes don’t.
Little White Lie #2
The Lie: The best way to whiten your teeth is to have your dentist perform a whitening procedure.
The Truth: It’s not really the case that any one method of teeth whitening is the “best” way. Your dentist can perform tooth whitening for you, but this doesn’t mean that the results are going to be any better. The in-office teeth whitening procedures that your dentist can do for you use hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide; that is to say the exact same whitening agents that are used in do it yourself teeth whiteners.
How effective these peroxide tooth whitening systems are depends on two things: How high of a concentration of peroxide is present in the whitening gel and how long this product spends in direct contact with your teeth.
The same results that you could get from a whitening procedure performed by your dentist can be gotten with an at home tooth whitening system as well. It’s simply a question of using a highly concentrated whitener for a short duration versus a less concentrated whitener for a longer time.
Either method produces the same results, though there is one factor which differs significantly: the cost. You’ll pay four to eight times as much to have a dentist whiten your teeth as you would to whiten them using an at home teeth whitening system. Since you can get the same results at home with a much smaller price tag, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of people are starting to choose at home tooth whitening over a dental procedure.
Little White Lie #3
The Lie: Every tooth whitening product works equally well.
The Truth: It is decidedly not the case that all tooth whitening products are created equal. There are some products which work quite well, while others don’t really work at all.
Where these products differ is in the whitening agents which are used. Different products may use one or the other of the two most common whitening agents – but the real difference is in the concentration of these agents, which is what really separates an effective product from one which doesn’t get results. Before you choose an at home whitening product, you should examine the available alternatives, keeping in mind what type of staining you’re seeking to reverse and how severe this staining is.
Little White Lie #4
The Lie: Tooth whitening can damage your teeth and gums.
The Truth: There is no risk of damage to your teeth or gums from using tooth whiteners. The whitening gel is applied directly to your teeth, where the whitening agents oxidize the organic deposits which cause staining. While it doesn’t cause any damage to your teeth or gums, it is possible to have some sensitivity in your teeth following the procedure; however, this is only a temporary effect. You can reduce this sensitivity by reducing the amount of time that the whitening gel is in contact with the surface of your teeth.
Gum irritation happens to some users, though this is usually due to a tray which is improperly designed and allows the whitening gel to contact the gums – a compelling argument to use the at home tooth whitening systems which include custom whitening trays.
Little White Lie #5
The Lie: Using whitening strips is the best way to get whiter teeth.
The Truth: There’s that word “best” again. However, it is not the case that whitening strips are the best, or even among the best methods of tooth whitening. The problem is that no two people have the same teeth, meaning that a whitening strip can’t conform to the surface of your teeth perfectly. Grooves and depressions in the teeth aren’t affected and even in the best case scenario, a whitening strip can only get the front of your teeth. You’ll get uneven whitening and very unattractive “stripes” of stained teeth – something which can actually look worse than before you started using the strips!
Little White Lie #6
The Lie: Thermoform trays are just as effective as custom-fitted whitening trays.
The Truth: Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Just like whitening strips, these trays don’t provide a perfect fit for your teeth; it’s like trying to wear dentures made for someone else. A custom-fitted whitening tray, however, will conform to your teeth and produce even whitening as well as reducing the potential for irritation if the gums since they reduce the amount of whitening gel which can leak out.
Little White Lie #7
The Lie: Paint-on tooth whiteners are the best at home tooth whitening products since they’re the easiest to use.
The Truth: The paint-on whiteners are definitely easy to use, but unfortunately they’re not effective. They have the same fatal flaw as whitening toothpastes. Your saliva washes away the whitening agents, meaning that the whiteners aren’t left in contact with the surface of your teeth for a long enough time to do much, if anything to whiten them. The whitening agents in these products is also present in a very low concentration so as to prevent irritation – so even if they did spend more time in contact with your teeth, they are of very little use. At best, these paint on tooth whitening products leave you with very limited whitening results and have an uneven, unnatural look.
Other paint on tooth whiteners are basically whitewash for the teeth and do nothing to actually remove stains and discoloration.
Little White Lie #8
The Lie: Teeth whitening systems which use electroluminescence in conjunction with a whitening gel work better than systems which only use a gel because of the high-tech light technology activating the ingredients of the gel
The Truth: These products are nothing new; what they are is ineffective. The electroluminescence used in these products don’t do anything except for look pretty. There is no added effect to these products by virtue of this light and it’s not necessary to remove staining and get whiter teeth. This is a marketing ploy, plain and simple.
Little White Lie #9
The Lie: Tooth bleaching produces the same results for everybody.
The Truth: Every individual is different and so are their teeth; including their staining. Some stains are easier to bleach than others. Yellow stains are the easiest to remove, followed by brown staining. Teeth which are stained to a grayish shade are the most difficult to whiten by the use of a bleaching procedure.
Little White Lie #10
The Lie: If you swallow tooth whitening gel it can result in internal injuries.
The Truth: There is about a 100% chance that you’ll swallow at least a little bit of tooth whitening gel regardless of which tooth whitening system you choose. It’s not harmful, though it does have an odd taste.
Before you buy teeth whitening products online please be sure to go to Teeth Whitening Trays for information you need to know about health issues when using teeth whitening products.Also see more information on where to find the best whitening strips.