Disadvantages of At-Home Teeth Whitening

Everyone wants a whiter, brighter smile, but not everyone knows how to go about getting one. There are a myriad of at-home teeth whitening kits available online, in stores, and even from your dentist. There’s also the whitening process your dentist uses in his or her office to help improve the overall color of your teeth. If you choose to whiten your teeth, you want to know the pros and cons associated with having this done professionally at your dentist’s office versus doing it yourself at home.

What most people don’t realize is not all stains are capable of whitening. Some tooth stains are so far advanced or so dark it’s impossible to lighten them at home or at the dentist’s office. You need to know what type of stains you have, what likelihood you have of getting rid of them, and whether or not whitening at home will even work. Whitening your teeth improves your smile, increases your overall confidence, and it makes you want to smile. Doing it the wrong way can cause you to feel worse than you did before you chose to go this route. This is why you need to be aware of all that could go wrong whitening your own teeth at home.

Disadvantages of At-Home Whitening

Unless you’re a dentist and you can whiten your teeth at home using your professional kit, you don’t want to try this at home. Many people swear by it, and it’s not always a bad thing. However, it’s not the best way to whiten your teeth, and that’s why it’s not as highly recommended. There are some disadvantages to whitening at home, and they’re substantial.

If you whiten your teeth at home, you might run into one of the most common problems associated with doing so:

• Developing tooth sensitivity
• Developing gum sensitivity
• Staining your teeth
• You can’t diagnose your own cavities, and the kit might cause them to hurt
• Not all stains are minor enough for these kits
• You don’t get the same results you get in a dentist’s office

As you can see, it’s not always beneficial to whiten your teeth at home. The solution used at home is not nearly as strong as the solution your dentist uses, and it means your results aren’t as noticeable. If you’re going to whiten your teeth, don’t you want to do it the right way the first time? Even at-home whitening kits suggest you speak with your dentist prior to use. This is because so many people experience issues with these kits if their other dental issues aren’t first diagnosed.

It makes no sense to go to the dentist for a check-up and then go home to whiten your teeth. It’s far more advantageous to simply have your teeth whitened at the dentist’s office. It allows for whiter results, less pain, and it’s more comfortable than doing it at home on your own. It’s less expensive in most options to do it at home, but you have to do it more often. That adds up over time, and it sometimes becomes more expensive to whiten your teeth at home when you go this route.
 

Advantages of Having Your Teeth Whitened at the Dentist’s Office

Your dentist is a professional who whitens teeth regularly. This means your dentist is good at what he or she does, making more likely you will end up with a result you’re happy with. Many dental patients are more comfortable allowing whitening to take place with a professional who is there to monitor your teeth regularly. There are a number of other advantages to allowing your dentist to do the whitening you want for you.

• It’s safer than doing it yourself at home
• It’s faster than doing it at home yourself
• It’s whitens teeth better than at-home kits
• It’s less painful than at-home kits
• It lasts longer than at-home whitening
• There are fewer chances of your gums or teeth becoming sensitive during the process
• Your dentist can diagnose any other oral health issues you might have to prevent more damage

Your dentist’s whitening program might be more expensive than doing it yourself at home, but the results are almost always better. You might not be able to do anything about your particular stains, but your dentist is able to tell you that ahead of time. Since gum and tooth sensitivity are so prevalent in the whitening process, it’s important to use a chemical that’s softer and less potent than the ones you find in at-home trays.

If you’re still not sure how you want to go, you should consider your stains. If they include the following, they’re best for in-office whitening.

• Tobacco use stains
• Coffee stains
• Red wine stains
• Soda stains
• Vegetable and fruit stains

These are strong stains, and at-home whitening has a very slight effect on them if it has any at all. Dentists recommend you use a professional whitening solution at their office if you want to get rid of these stains properly and to the best of your ability. They’re not going to see much of a result at all with a regular kit from the store. Take-home whitening kits from the dentist’s office might have better results, but they’re still not as good as doing it with the dentist.

Sometimes it takes more than one visit for a whitening to work as effectively as you might hope. However, your dentist is the person who has the best chance of turning your smile into the one you want via whitening. You can always whiten at home, but most people want the best possible results. Those aren’t possible when you whiten at home with kits that aren’t as effective. Call your dentist to talk about a whitening appointment to see if your smile can handle what the dentist has to offer.