Know Your Options When It Comes To Teeth Whitening Products

Ever wonder why every movie star has a picture perfect smile? Models smoke and drink coffee all day long but when they smile, it lights up the room. So how do they do it? It’s simple – they have their teeth whitened regularly. For a movie star, $500 or more may be nothing, but for you and me, it’s ridiculous to spend a fortune on achieving whiter teeth when home teeth whitening strips can do the job just as well. Inexpensive and effective, teeth whitening strips have been on the market for six years now and are widely used.

Teeth whitening strips are filmy, transparent strips made to fit upper and lower surfaces of the teeth. The inside of the strip is coated with a peroxide-based bleaching agent that adheres to your teeth and works by maintaining contact for 30 minutes. Generally, strips are designed to be used twice a day for two to four weeks. Some strips come in a higher concentration of peroxide and are meant for a seven-day treatment. Crest is a leader in the whitening strips market and the cost of a pack varies from $10 to $50.

As you can see, teeth whitening strips are easy on the wallet. But do they produce results? Many studies and tests suggest that teeth whitening strips are the most effective amongst home teeth whitening treatments. The efficacy of the strips is evident in their popularity as well as in comments from experts and consumer tests conducted by magazines. Since the results of any whitening treatment typically last about six months, you may not want to spend too much money on it each time.

Whitening strips can whiten your teeth for six months, with a little care. If you can shake a tea, coffee, red wine or smoking habit, teeth whitening strips will keep your pearly whites bright for up to six months. Consuming these beverages and a variety of other foods causes teeth to stain, reversing the effects of any whitening treatment. Natural discoloration processes also affect the teeth and within six months to one year, teeth begin to yellow and a touch up is required.

Some testers complain that teeth whitening strips cause excessive drooling while they are in your mouth. While not all testers have experienced this problem, it is merely a temporary issue, affecting you only while the strips are in your mouth for 30 minutes twice a day for two weeks. It is more convenient than a mould in your mouth overnight or a paint-on liquid that may not dry properly before you close your mouth. Even during professional dental whitening, the patient is required to keep their mouth open for the entire duration of the in-office treatment.

In fact, teeth whitening strips offer the best alternative, both in terms of ease and comfort of treatment as well as cost effectiveness, for whitening your teeth for six months. If you find the drooling hard to tolerate, think how much more uncomfortable whitening was in the days before strips. You would need to sit with your mouth open for an hour at a time at a dentist’s office or try to sleep with a plastic tray in your mouth. So now you can stick on, pull off, and smile with a 1000 watts.

America is a huge market for teeth whitening products. We spend millions of dollars every year on polishing up those pearly whites. As the ultimate image conscious society, appearances tend to be of prime importance to us and looking good can help you get a better job, a better partner, a better life. And let’s face it – yellow, stained teeth can detract from the most attractive face. There is a range of teeth whitening products of every description available to meet your needs, so it’s good to know your options well.

Broadly, teeth whitening products fall into two categories – professional teeth whitening products and over-the-counter teeth whitening systems. Professional dental whitening products include a home tray-based system and whitening strips. The tray-based system consists of a mould that is made to order for your teeth and filled with gel containing a peroxide-based bleaching agent. This is fitted over the upper and lower teeth and used overnight for four weeks or more depending on the condition of your teeth. The cost, upwards of $300, is prohibitive.

Professionally dispensed teeth whitening strips are also available from dentists for around $50, and contain higher concentrations of bleaching agent than the over-the-counter variety. As for teeth whitening products available over-the-counter, these come in the form of toothpastes, strips, gels or paint-on liquids, tray-based systems and chewing gums. Whitening toothpastes are widely and cheaply available, with prices starting at $3. They are, however, considered to be ineffective because the bleaching agent does not remain in contact with the teeth for long enough to work.

Strips adhere to the surface of the upper and lower teeth and are coated with peroxide-based bleach that causes the whitening action. These are widely used and considered by many testers to be effective and economical, at prices starting from $10. Paint-on liquids are highly convenient – they just need to be painted on twice a day every day or overnight every night for two to four weeks. They need to be left to dry for a few minutes and cost upwards of $15. The tray-based systems available over-the-counter cost far less than similar teeth whitening products available from dentists.

Over-the-counter tray-based systems contain far less peroxide bleach and cost between $15 and $200. The moulds are one-size-fits-all. Whitening chewing gums are considered the least effective of all teeth whitening products. They do not contain peroxide bleaching agent and need to be used four times a day every day for six weeks. A pack costs $2. It is useful to know that your teeth have a natural threshold, beyond which they cannot be whitened. Very few people are born with pure white teeth and age causes further discoloration. Whitening products work best on people with healthy but stained teeth.

The results of teeth whitening products typically last about six months, with care to avoid foods and beverages that stain and yellow your teeth. Tea, coffee, blueberry pie and cigarettes rank amongst the most common culprits. While strips can cause excessive drooling, some testers find it cumbersome to wait for paint-on liquid to dry and tray-based systems can be clumsy and uncomfortable. Every method has its pros and cons but armed with this information, you can choose the one that suits your wallet and your convenience. So go ahead, pick one and smile like a movie star!