If you are looking for a way to whiten your teeth, you no doubt know by know there is a huge variety of products on the market. But with all the gels, whitening toothpastes, scrubs, swabs, strips, and laser lights on the market, how can you pick which product is best for making teeth white? Here’s a breakdown of some of the popular types of home tooth whitening treatments, and how effective they are.
Strips
Teeth whitening strips are some of the most popular products, as they are commonly found on the supermarket aisles, and advertised heavily on television and in magazines. The strip consists of a flexible plastic strip with a bleaching agent and light adhesive on one side. The strips are attached to the teeth and worn for a short period of time usually 30 minutes to an hour.
Strips are generally seen as a cheaper but fairly ineffective whitening device. As they are mass produced in one particular shape, and teeth come in millions of different shapes and sizes, it’s nearly impossible to get full teeth coverage with these products, resulting in uneven whitening that can often look worse than having a consistent discoloration on the teeth.
Gels
Gels are also very popular, and many see them as the best teeth whitening system available. They are generally use in conjunction with a teeth tray, which is moulded to the teeth using a boil-and-bite system, ensuring all the teeth are treated evenly. The gel is applied to the inside of the tray, which is then worn for a period of an hour or two, all the way up to all day, or overnight while sleeping.
While gels are very effective (and products that are the same strength as dentist’s gel can now be bought relatively cheaply online), many find the trays to be uncomfortable to wear, and the long time required for treatment can be very inconvenient. They are also a bit more expensive than over-the-counter treatments.
Scrubs and Swabs
Scrubs represent the newest form of home teeth whitening, and the results people are getting from them are leading to the general consensus that they are among the best teeth white systems available. They come in the form of a swab, a small brush or a whitening ‘pen’, that contains a whitening agent inside the device itself. The swab is squeezed or a small pump is press, which applies the gel to the tip of the device, this is then used to scrub the teeth, in a similar manner to brushing.
These treatments are very convenient as most people integrate them into their brushing routine, adding only a minute or two to the whole procedure. This also means you are less likely to forget to use the treatment each day. This method also ensures that even coverage of the teeth can be achieved, and gives the added benefit of being able to concentrate the treatment on a single particularly stained or discolored tooth (which is a condition most sufferers of teeth stains have, and which is ignored by the above two treatments) ensuring the most natural and consistent lighting of teeth or removal of stains.
