Laser Tooth Whitening
|
|
Some whitening systems use a soft tissue laser to actually activate the whitening gel on the
teeth. An example of such a system is the Smartlite laser system. In this system the laser
light is applied to each tooth individually for about 30 seconds. The systems usually use a
hydrogen peroxide bleach in an alkaline solution.
|
Light Activated Tooth Whitening
|
Laser systems is an erroneous description as these systems all use a different way
length of
light to activate the solution used. These use either the old fashioned red light system or the new
Blue wavelength systems. The Blue wavelength systems are much kinder to the teeth as they do not need
the extra strength solutions to achieve the same results as red light systems require. The shade change
is up to 9 shades up on the teeth. The complete process takes an hour to do and is the quickest system
on the market today. |
Professional Home Whitening Systems
|
| These systems involve an examination by the dentist and then custom trays a made to
fit your mouth exactly. The trays are made in the dental lab to be very close fitting as this
determines how well the whitening solutions work. The custom trays are the safest , effective, user
friendly systems than any other trays you may purchase at a pharmacy, supermarket or direct
marketing company. The carbamide gel issued to use in the trays is of the highest quality and can
range from 10%-22% with high quality buffers and enhancer's. |
Whitening system: Heat and Bite
|
Slightly crude system whereby a standard tray is issued and you have to heat to
mould to
your mouth, to attempt to make it a custom fit tray. Gels of varying grades are then sold to
you to use in the tray. |
Non-Mouldable Tray Whitening System
|
Much less effective than professional systems and are found in retail stores.
Because the
trays are just standard trays that don’t fit well or snugly, this will result in uneven whitening and
spotting of your teeth. Solutions are held in different concentrations on various parts of the teeth so
possible sensitivity issue may be more prominent. The gels are usually very inferior and in low
concentrations so that this means you usually have to do it a lot longer which produce inferior
whitening results. |
Tooth whitening Strips
|
These are available professionally. The strips are not the shape of the teeth so at
the gum
level the whitening is patchy. They are not as effective as custom made trays and to get some results
you will have to use 4-6 boxes of whitening strips. The active ingredient of whitening strips is
hydrogen peroxide. |
Whitening Toothpaste
|
Whitening toothpastes contain very little whitening agent and don’t really do much
for
whitening teeth. You have to be careful the toothpaste doesn’t work by being abrasive and
effectively wearing away the enamel on your teeth. If you have noticeable staining you will
probably find a difference is made but for most people little benefit is achieved. |
Whitening Floss
|
Has an agent called Calprox to safely whiten between teeth and works to remove
stains,
plaque around the gum area. It is shown to be safe and effective. |
Whitening Rinse
|
| Has concentrated peroxide and in clinical studies is safe to help whiten teeth (
limited affect) and will help against gingivitis. |
