home teeth whitening safe

 Is home teeth whitening safe

In the past, most teeth whitening treatment was performed by a qualified dentist, but gradually over the last few years, kits have appeared on the market enabling people to carry out bleaching of their teeth themselves, using strips of impregnated material applied to the teeth, or, more commonly, trays of gel placed over the teeth. 

The tray and gel kits used a similar carbamide peroxide gel formulation to that used by the professionals, but at somewhat lower strength. These gels typically contain 15-22% concentration of carbamide peroxide whereas a dentist may use up to 45% to achieve quicker results, using a carefully controlled technique to protect the patient from swallowing gel or from damage to the gums.

The European Union has stepped in to ban certain types of home whitening kits because of concerns about possible adverse side effects, maintaining that kits with high concentrations of peroxide be used only under the close supervision of a dentist. This is because people using peroxide kits at home run the risk of chemical burns to their mouth from overspill of gel from mouth trays and hypersensitivity of their teeth following treatment. 

This has forced manufacturers to bring out teeth whitening kits with different formulations that comply with current or imminent regulations. The new types of kit use sodium bicarbonate, or sometimes sodium perborate as their main active ingredient to achieve excellent whitening of teeth without any risk of problems or side effects.

The main points to note for safe use of any home whitening kit are as follows:

� Make sure you read and understand all the instructions.

� Don�t carry on using a whitening system for more than four weeks without consulting a dentist. It is best to give your teeth a rest after four weeks of intensive treatment but this is usually all you need to achieve an excellent whitening effect. If you should encounter any increased sensitivity it is wise to stop the treatment for two or three days at a time to let the teeth settle, and then resume.

� Keep to the recommended amount of whitening gel. Putting too much into the mouth-trays will not speed up the process, but it will make overspill more likely. This is not harmful with non-peroxide kits but you will be wasting gel. 

� Avoid home teeth whitening kits if you are under 16, pregnant, or have white spots on your teeth as can be caused by some medications in early life. If you do have white spots then teeth whitening treatment may make these more, rather than less, obvious.
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