Teeth Whitening Gel Guide

Let's face it, whiter teeth make for a better, gorgeous looking smile. Some people may want a bright and white smile but may suffer from having stained teeth due to their genetics, smoking, drinking coffee, tea, or soda, or for whatever reasons it may be.
Fact of the matter is that we all want to have that picture perfect smile but a trip to the dentist may be a bit scary and somewhat pricey. This is where whitening products come into play; Teeth whitening gels are becoming a very popular item in the market. It is an effective, specialized formula that you are able to do by yourself, whenever you feel like it, it is easy to use and you are able to use it in the convenience of your own home and best of all, it will not cost you a fortune. Teeth whitening gel is safe, approved by the American Dental Association (A.D.A.), effective, and gives you a long lasting, bright and white smile that you are going to love showing off!

At home teeth whitening kits typically consist of a shade chart, a mouth piece, a syringe, the whitening gel and some even come with a battery operated ultra violet (UV) light.
The gel contains a main chemical ingredient which is called carbamide peroxide. Carbamide peroxide is a chemical that contains white crystals that lets oxygen out when water comes into contact with it; it is commonly used in the dental industry to whiten or bleach the teeth and is also used to relieve minor oral irritations. The way it works is it breaks down and the oxygen will release into the enamel of your teeth which then bleaches the colored elements without an effect on your gums, crowns, or fillings. Although, some people may have some minor side effects of white spots on their gums, sensitive teeth to hot and cold things, which usually subside, or burning of the gums.

The procedure to a teeth whitening kit is pretty simple. As earlier mentioned, the kit contains a chart for shading, a mouth tray or piece, a syringe, the teeth whitening gel and some even come with a battery operated ultra violet (UV) light to activate and speed up the process. First you are going to start out fresh with your teeth flossed and brushed, then check the shade chart to see where your teeth stand on the chart and make sure that you take note of this in order to see if you obtained your desired result, next you would take the syringe and insert the necessary amount gel into it and then plunge a sufficient amount into the mouthpiece, press onto your teeth and hold it there for the instructed amount of time. Now, if your kit contains a battery operated UV light, you would just hold this light up against the mouth piece while you wait for the instructed amount of time to pass. Then when completed, you can check out and compare your results on the shade chart and see your new bright and white smile! The results that you see right when you are finished will usually get even better after a few days and will typically last around 4-6 months then you would need to do it again.

These do-it-yourself whitening products can range in price anywhere from $20.00 to $300.00. It just depends on the brand and what the kits contain in them.
The cheaper ones that around $20.00 to $50.00 are usually what you could consider as a “starter kit” which usually has enough supplies in them for a trial use up to 1-3 times. Some of these kits may not contain a mouth piece, in which you would have to purchase separately or have a mold made from your dentist or a separate kit. A kit such as this that is within the $20-$50 range would be the Bleach Pro Teeth Whitening 22% which runs about $20-$25 or the Colgate Visible White take home kit which is about $40-$45. Whereas a kit that is about $150-$250 will last you a lot longer for many more uses, would be Zoom Whitening System. Now, you don’t need to purchase an at home teeth whitening gel kit to get some pearly whites, you can always go to your dentist for it to be done, which can range from $300-$900 or even a place such as a BleachBright Store, which are either stores or kiosks in malls, this may range in price from $60-$200 usually depending on the amount of time.