16 June 2014
Will whitening remove the enamel on my teeth?
How you choose to whiten your teeth will determine whether or not you could do some harm on the enamel of your teeth. If you get professional bleaching treatment from your dentist, it’s very unlikely that damage on your teeth will happen. If on the other hand, you go for the much cheaper whitening service offered at some beauty salons and spas, or you opt to try doing it yourself at home with whitening products that are sold online and over-the-counter, there is no assurance that the enamel on your teeth, maybe even other parts of your body will not get harmed.
Teeth whitening, while done for cosmetic reasons, is nonetheless a dental procedure. If carried out by a non-dental professional, as the case in salons and spas, it is unauthorised. There is no guaranty that the treatment will not damage your teeth and overall dental health. Since bleaching products which can be bought commercially without a prescription from a dentist are very diluted, most of these salons and spas usually also additionally use known traditional teeth whitening solutions like baking soda, apple cider vinegar, strawberry pulp, turmeric, lemon peels, and so forth, so that they can deliver on their promise to give you whiter teeth fast. Take note that while all these items are safe, they can harm the enamel on your teeth if applied too aggressively and in too concentrated quantities.
For over-the-counter do-it-yourself bleaching kits, while certified safe, there is still risk that the mouth trays may not properly fit with your teeth. When this happens, the whitening agents may leak into your gums and mouth and cause blisters and other complications. Without proper screening and preliminary consultation at the dental office, there is also no way of knowing if the active ingredients in the whitening products to be used will not give you an allergic reaction. In addition, if the bleaching kits are used too immoderately, that is, far too frequently than a dentist would normally recommend, you would eventually erode the enamel on your teeth.
On the other hand, whitening or bleaching, if done by or under guidance of a dental professional, will not cause any damage on the enamel nor rest of your teeth. Professional dental teeth whitening treatment may be done in one of two ways. One is in-office bleaching. Here the treatment starts with a dental cleaning to rid the teeth and gums of decay-causing plaque and tartar. After the cleaning, a light-cured protective solution is applied on the gums and between the teeth to minimise risk of chemical irritation of the soft tissues. Then the bleaching agent, usually a peroxide-based gel, is carefully painted on each tooth. After 15 minutes, laser or halogen curing light is turned on to activate the peroxide. Following that, the teeth is again coated with the bleaching solution, which will again be cured with light. The process is repeated until the desired shade of white is reached. Finally, fluoride is applied on the teeth for added protection. The entire in-office procedure usually takes an hour to complete.
The other way of professional dental teeth whitening treatment is through at-home dentist-supervised bleaching. Here during the initial consultation, the dentist takes an impression of your teeth which he then uses as mold for making your customised mouth trays. Once ready, you can take home the mouth trays along with the whitening gel and your dentist’s detailed written instructions. At home, you will put a small amount of gel into the tray which you will wear for about two hours a day. At-home teeth whitening treatment can take up to four to six weeks of daily use of the mouth trays before you get the desired shade of white. The bleaching solution in the at-home treatment is much less concentrated than the one used in in-office treatment and thus generally safe to use so long as the dentist’s instructions are strictly followed. You can rest assured that the procedure will not remove the enamel on your teeth.
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