Want whiter teeth? How to choose the best whitening method

So you thought picking out the best system for whitening your teeth was going to be as easy as choosing a new toothpaste. It’s not, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

Even though whitening is a relatively simple type of beauty treatment, it’s still a quasi-medical procedure that, like hair dyeing, is becoming a popular at-home option.

The array of whitening products and procedures stretches from the drugstore, to the medical spa, shopping mall, cosmetics counter and finally, the dentist’s office. The do-it-yourself choices include gel-backed strips; whitening toothpaste, mouthwash and floss; brush-on whitening gel pens; and multi-product kits that contain mouthguard-like trays to contain the whitener.

One element is in common with all of them — hydrogen peroxide.  Professional  speed bleaching treatments achieve often-dramatic whitening in about an hour and use up to 35%  hydrogen peroxide, or 10 to 15% of a similar solution, carbamide peroxide. The differences? Time, cost and ease of use.

Only dentists can prescribe whitening gels that contain more than 6% hydrogen peroxide,  says Dr. Louis Amendola, D.D.S. and chief dental director for Western Dental Services, Inc., a California-based dental HMO.  Most at-home kits, whether they are whitening strips or one-size-fits-all trays, use less powerful bleaching agents that are designed to be used daily for a period of days or weeks to achieve gradual color change. If your daily coffee, tea, red wine and blueberry diet has made your smile dingy, then do-it-yourself whitening products may be handy for frequent touch-ups.

However, some of the most effective at-home kits may require twice-a-day, 30-minute treatments for three weeks, according to Consumer Reports.

If you want white teeth — now — then speed bleaching in a dentist’s office is the most likely choice. However, a dentist will insist on a pre-treatment examination to be sure you don’t have tooth decay or gum disease that could cause discomfort if sensitive nerves or tissues get exposed to the bleaching agents.

Whiter teeth are within reach, but the bleaching trays are slippery

The do-it-yourself philosophy may be fine for making a macrame guitar strap or painting the bathroom walls, but when it comes to improving body parts, I’m becoming convinced that it’s best to leave that to the professionals.

Even the seemingly simple stuff — like teeth whitening — seems to go better with a pro on hand for consultations. Yours truly should know.  My path to whiter teeth is littered with bleaching gel pens, whitening floss, toothpaste and mouthwash, and the worst, a “discounted” $75 take-home kit that contained syringes of high-powered whitening gel and DIY bleaching trays.

The so-called boil-and-bite bleaching trays are like big, rubbery mouthguards. The instructions said to drop a tray into hot or boiling water for a few seconds until it softens, then position it onto a row of teeth where it will cool and mold into place. Easy as pie, you have a custom-made tray.

Not quite.

My tray slipped from my tongs and stuck to itself. Fished from the hot water too late, the tray was misshapen — forever. Working more carefully with the second tray, I managed to get a less deformed end product. Both were such an uncomfortable, sloppy fit that the strong bleaching gel burned my gums, while the oversized dimensions nearly gagged me. My first and only gel-and-tray whitening session began and ended there.

I’m still a stubborn DIY type, so I’m going to give at-home teeth bleaching another go.

In the meantime, check out this article I found on teeth whitening on CNBC.com