In Office vs Over-The-Counter Teeth Whitening

When you visit your dentist for teeth bleaching, they will first review your mouth and remove any surface stains before beginning your treatment.

In addition, the teeth whitening will be customized to your specific needs, providing more uniform and pleasing results.

Your teeth have many different angulations, shades of color, and fillings/crowns that don’t respond to over-the-counter teeth bleaching products.

Whitening strips and paint-on kits have lower concentrations of active ingredients and are not applied uniformly, giving inconsistent results.

The teeth bleaching agents provided by your dentist have the strength to provide dramatic, long-lasting results in just one treatment.

While over-the-counter gels work for patients with mild tooth discoloration, if you have moderate-significant tooth staining, a visit to the dentist will give you the best results.

When you get your teeth whitening treatment performed at the dentist, you can be sure that it will be tailored to your exact needs.

Your dentist will create custom fit trays for your mouth, allowing for an exact fit and more accurate results.

Some over the counter teeth bleaching kits have mouthpieces that never fit right.

As a result, there will be parts of your teeth not whitened, leaving you with uneven coverage.

Another common issue with poorly fitted, over-the-counter trays is that the whitening agent can get onto your gums, causing discomfort and chemical burns.

While it may cost more up-front to have your teeth whitened at the dentist, the results are longer-lasting which means you require fewer touch-ups over the years.

While a home whitening kit is cheaper when bought in the store, remember that you will require a brand new one every time you want to touch up your smile.

Maintaining the teeth whitening results from over-the-counter products is much more expensive in the long run compared to in-office teeth bleaching.