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Key Takeaways:
Understanding Stains and Whitening Options:
Teeth discoloration can be intrinsic (from within the tooth) or extrinsic (surface stains). OTC products may not effectively address intrinsic stains, often leading to overuse and potential side effects.
Safe Whitening Practices:
Follow instructions carefully when using OTC whitening products to avoid gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. Professional treatments, whether in-office or take-home kits, offer more potent ingredients and quicker results.
Maintaining Results and Dental Health:
To prolong whitening effects, avoid stain-causing foods and drinks, maintain good oral hygiene, and have regular dental cleanings. Consulting a dentist ensures safe and effective whitening tailored to individual needs.
While everyone wants to have healthy-looking, white teeth, you should use caution with whitening products. You can whiten your teeth too frequently or use too much of the product. When overused, whitening agents can cause more severe side effects than if you followed the whitening kit or dentist’s instructions.
How much is too much? How often can you whiten your teeth? Our guide will help you find out.
Why Do You Need to Whiten Your Teeth
When finding a way to whiten your teeth, you should understand that different causes of staining will respond differently to whitening products. Teeth discoloration may start from the inside of the tooth, called intrinsic discoloration. However, most stains come from surface deposits, called extrinsic discoloration.
Whitening Intrinsic Stains
If you have intrinsic discoloration, the causes may be decay in the tooth, aging, or medication use. Often, over-the-counter (OTC) products cannot address this type of whitening because they are not strong enough. You may feel tempted to use OTC products more often than recommended to see results. Consequently, you have a greater risk of overusing OTC whitening kits if you have intrinsic stains.
Removing Extrinsic Stains
For extrinsic stains, the discoloration typically comes from the food or drink that you consume. These leave coloring on the teeth that discolor your normally white teeth.
If you only have mild discoloration of your teeth, some OTC products might work. However, if you don’t use them precisely as directed, you could experience gum irritation and tooth sensitivity.
For whitening more than one shade, you’ll want to talk to your dentist for more effective, stronger products and options.
Ways to Whiten Your Teeth
You have several options for whitening your teeth, most of which use peroxide as the bleaching ingredient. The main difference between peroxide-containing OTC and professional products is the amount of active ingredients in them. For the strongest, most effective whitening, you will need to see your dentist.
Over-the-Counter Products
Over-the-counter products include bleaching strips, trays, gels, and toothpaste. These have varying levels of effectiveness. However, even the best OTC whitening kits will only whiten teeth one or two shades.
Gels, strips, and trays are all used once a day for a specified amount of time during the day and number of days to complete the treatment. The percentage of peroxide in the product has an inverse relationship to the amount of time you can use the product. For example, whitening strips with low percentages of peroxide require more time per use than products that have high peroxide percentages.
As with all OTC products, when using whitening kits, follow the directions carefully to avoid overusing them. Most products should produce results in 10 to 14 days.
If you complete the treatment course as instructed, don’t immediately repeat using the product. You may need something more substantial than an OTC teeth whitener.
Professional Whitening
Professional whitening kits or in-office whitening have the greatest amounts of active whitening ingredients. Plus, these options have other ingredients or methods used to prevent gum and teeth sensitivity or irritation.
Due to higher concentrations of active ingredients compared to OTC products, dentist-provided take-home kits require less than half the time of OTC products to achieve the same level of whitening, seven days compared to 16 days. In-office whitening can do the same job in one single-day session.
Take-home kits only require a few days to a few weeks of use to whiten your teeth. Since your dentist provides these kits, they have stronger ingredients and produce faster results than OTC alternatives. Plus, your dentist can help you if you have questions about using the kit or experience side effects.
For in-office whitening, you can likely get the desired results in only one or two visits, even if you need dramatic whitening results for your teeth. Take-home whitening kits from your dentist are also stronger than OTC kits.
Ask your dentist for their recommendations on the best whitening option for your schedule, expectations, and dental needs. For instance, if you have sensitive teeth or gums, you may benefit more from dentist-administered in-office whitening to ensure the whitening product stays off your gums.
How Often Can You Whiten Your Teeth?
When it comes to the frequency of using whitening products, the answer depends on the type of product used and its strength. Stronger products require more time between uses to allow your teeth to recover.
Frequency of Use for Over-the-Counter Products
For over-the-counter kits, the results should last for a few months. Don’t repeat the process more frequently than three or four times a year or once every three or four months. Always follow the product recommendations for how often you can repeat the process, and do not use the whitening system more often than that.
How Often Can You Have Professional Whitening
Take-home professional whitening kits should last for months, at least until your next cleaning. However, in-office whitening produces the longest-lasting results. After completing your whitening process, the results should last for one to three years.
What Happens If You Whiten Teeth Too Often?
Using whitening products too frequently can cause problems. The common side effects of whitening, teeth sensitivity, and gum irritation typically subside by the fourth day after treatment. However, if you use whitening kits too often, you may find these problems lasting longer.
For any type of whitening product, you should only have mild sensitivity or irritation of the gums. If you feel pain or the side effects linger for several days after whitening, talk to your dentist.
Keeping Your Teeth Bright Between Whitening Sessions
To reduce your need to whiten your teeth too frequently, prevent them from staining between sessions.
Avoid eating and drinking things that stain your teeth. If you do consume coffee, wine, berries, tomato sauce, or other staining products, rinse out your mouth with water after your meal.
Brush and floss regularly and see your dentist for twice-a-year cleanings. Professional cleanings can remove some surface stains from teeth and keep your whitened smile looking bright.
Quit smoking or using tobacco products, which can not only stain teeth but also raise your oral cancer risk.
Whitening can keep your teeth looking good, but you should start with healthy teeth by caring for them with brushing, flossing, and regular dental appointments.
Trust Our Matthews Family Dentistry Team for Getting Whiter Teeth Without Overdoing It
The best way to get bright results from whitening with fewer side effects is to consult with a dentist. At Matthews Family Dentistry, whitening is one of the many services we offer. Find out more about our teeth whitening options to make your smile look great and other services to keep your teeth healthy. We want to see you smile. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
