Keeping teeth white doesn’t always happen through brushing and flossing. Have you ever thought about using teeth whitening gel? Those of you who want that extra sparkle added to your teeth may discover that teeth whitening gel is considered effective but harmless.
The majority of whitening gels include hydrogen peroxide as one of the main ingredients. Once the whitening gel is applied it gently and slowly bleaches your teeth, and then removes unsightly stains and the unwanted discoloured appearance of your teeth.
How it works
When carbamide peroxide is applied to your teeth it breaks down to form hydrogen peroxide and urea. Therefore, it’s the hydrogen peroxide that does the bleaching. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with the stains and discoloration on your teeth. The teeth will have their chemcial structured as well having discolouration removed.
Take home whitening kits
Your dentist can provide whitening trays. These trays are custom made after an impression of your teeth has been carried out. This happens at your first appointment. At the second, you will be given the trays to take home and the whitening gel which you will need to add to the whitening tray.
Afterwards, you will be asked to apply the whitening gel for a specific period of time covering from 2 to 4 weeks.
Some types and concentrations of whitening gels can remain on your teeth for up to 8 hours a time. This reduces the treatment time to just one week. This at-home whitening treatment typically contains 10% carbamide peroxide, which will break down into 3.5% hydrogen peroxide. However, this is a slower way of whitening your teeth.
Whitening gel applied by a dentist
You can choose to have the whitening gel applied by the dentist. This gel acts more quickly because it contains a greater concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The whitening gel contains around 25 to 40 % of hydrogen peroxide. On average, the treatment lasts about an hour. As hydrogen peroxide used in this amount will most likely lose 50% of its bleaching properties in the first 30 minutes.
Another teeth whitening procedure which a dentist could provide is laser whitening. Which is sometimes referred to as power whitening. Using this method a bleaching product will be painted onto the surface of your teeth. After the painting, there will be the shining of a laser or light . The laser helps to activate the whitening. This method normally takes one hour.
Adding additional ingredients to the whitening gel
Some people’s teeth can become more sensitive following treatment with whitening gel. However, other additional ingredients can be added to reduce this effect.For instance, one ingredient could be potassium nitrate. This is used in toothpaste specifically for people who have sensitive teeth.
What does whitening gel whiten?
Since whitening gel doesn’t work on crowns and some filling material then your dentist might suggest ways of keeping your teeth as white as possible. If used on your natural teeth it will improve the colour of them if it’s applied at several appointments over time.
Applying whitening gel achieves a brighter and cleaner outcome to your teeth. So, whiter teeth can improve your self confidence when in the company of others.
You can find out more about Teeth Whitening products and much more about other aspects of Teeth Whitening by reading our long-form blog post entitled ‘Teeth Whitening – everything you need to know‘. This contains much more detailed advice and guidance about all aspects of the teeth whitening procedure and process.
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