The most effective and best teeth whitening treatment you can receive is a professional teeth whitening session at the dentist. The dentist has access to specialized whitening products and knows how to whiten teeth quickly and effectively. However, if you aren’t ready to invest in a professional teeth whitening, you may be tempted to buy an at-home whitening kit at your local drugstore or pharmacy. But do these kits really work?

The quick answer is yes. Over-the-counter teeth whitening products use the same chemicals as professional teeth whitening products at the dentist. The difference is the store-bought kits have these chemicals in much lower concentrations, so they are less powerful.

The bleaching agent in most kits is peroxide, which can remove both surface stains and deeper stains. Professional whitening technology also relies on peroxide-based bleaching agents. The difference is that the dentist uses a high concentration of bleaching chemicals over a brief amount of time, and the at-home kit uses a low concentration of bleaching chemicals over a longer period of time. Bleaching at the dentist usually lasts less than an hour and is often accelerated by a shining a special light on your teeth. Bleaching at home usually involves wearing strips, trays filled with gel, or a painted-on gel for a few hours per day, over the course of several days or weeks.

One common problem that makes at-home whitening less effective than professional teeth whitening from the dentist is inconsistency in applying the treatments. Many people start the treatments and repeat them on a regular basis for a while, then forget or stop when they don’t see an immediate difference. The key to ensuring the whitening treatments work is following the directions and doing the treatments as frequently as you’re supposed to.

A good way to ensure you actually complete your at-home teeth whitening process is to set a white teeth goal on your calendar. By this we mean: pick a special event coming up in the near future and make yourself a promise to have whiter teeth by then. Choosing an event where you’re likely to get your photo taken a lot is a good idea, such as a birthday, anniversary, or a wedding. For brides especially, we recommend whitening your teeth before the big day. Nothing will make yellow teeth stand out quite like a white dress!

Before you go out and buy an at-home whitening kit, it’s a good idea to have a chat with the dentist. Only a dental professional will be able to tell you whether teeth whitening, whether professional or from the drugstore, will work the way you want it to.

In a world filled with whitening toothpastes and drugstore whitening kits, it’s important to know that the most effective teeth whitening treatment still comes from your dentist. Not only do dentists have more powerful tools at our disposal, we are also experts on your smile, and can tell you whether teeth whitening is right for you and what kind of results to expect.

To understand how to whiten teeth as effectively as possible, let’s start with a little science.

If you look at teeth under a microscope, you can see that the hard outer layer, called enamel, is made up of a tightly packed crystal structure called rods. While this layer seems solid and smooth to the naked eye, it’s possible for the molecules that cause stains to get deep into the enamel by seeping between the rods. In order to remove stains, dentists use a chemical that can get down to where the stains are and break up them up using a chemical reaction.

The chemicals used in professional teeth whitening are hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide (which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide in your mouth, so hydrogen peroxide is still the active ingredient). Hydrogen peroxide penetrates the teeth and causes a reaction called oxidation, which breaks down the stain compounds.

By the way, whitening toothpastes work by removing surface stains on teeth, not the ones under the surface. They do this by being more abrasive than other toothpastes, which is why your dentist may discourage you from using whitening toothpastes if you have complained of tooth sensitivity. More than anything, toothpastes are good for preventing stains, not removing them!

At-home teeth whitening products from the drugstore also contain carbamide or hydrogen peroxide, but in much lower concentrations. They also contain other ingredients for flavor and to help reduce the possibility of tooth sensitivity. While drugstore kits are much cheaper, because the bleaching agents in these kits are less potent, you can expect to see results in weeks as opposed to days (with a home kit from your dentist) or minutes (when you get your teeth bleached at the dentist).

Another reason that it’s a good idea to go to you dentist for whitening treatments is they can evaluate whether your teeth should even undergo whitening to begin with. Some people don’t realize that whitening only works on natural teeth. Fillings and crowns are made of artificial materials that look like teeth, and feel like teeth, but chemically speaking, they’re very different. Most restorations are made from ceramic, porcelain, or composite resin. These materials do not react the same way to bleaching chemicals as your natural tooth enamel does. If you have large fillings or crowns, a dentist can recommend alternatives to bleaching for improving the appearance of your smile.

The color of their teeth is one of the top things people say they would like to change about their smile. Thankfully, teeth whitening is fairly simple treatment, but there are so many options for teeth whitening you may find yourself with a few questions. We think the most common and the most important question we hear is this: Why should I have my dentist whiten my teeth instead of using those drugstore whitening kits?

Dentists have access to better, more effective teeth whitening technologies. Strips and gels from the drugstore can make a difference, but the whitening agents they contain aren’t as strong as the ones at the dental office. Stronger solutions can and should only be used under the supervision of a dentist, which is why you’ll have to come to us if you want access to more effective whitening solutions.

Drugstore kits usually require you to apply them over the course of several days or weeks to see a difference, but a dentist can whiten your teeth in the course of a single visit. This is because dentists can use special technologies, such as special lights that accelerate the whitening process.

With in-office whitening, you can also choose the shade you want you teeth to be whitened to and your dentist will use their experience and expertise to get as close to that shade as possible. With drugstore tooth whitening kits, the shade you’ll end up with is anyone’s guess.

Perhaps the most important reason to have your dentist whiten your teeth actually has to your oral health and comfort. Teeth whitening is not recommended for people with gum disease or worn enamel. Also, some whitening agents are known to cause irritation or sensitivity in the teeth and gums. Your dentist can help prevent this from happening and can help you if any irritation and sensitivity does occur.

In-office professional teeth whitening is more expensive than at-home options, but what you get for your money is better technology, dentist supervisions and usually better results.

Interested in whitening but still haven’t decided to do it? Consider scheduling your whitening before a special event, especially one at which you know you might be photographed a lot, such as the holidays, graduation, or a wedding. Teeth whitening is a common cosmetic procedure for brides-to-be. Who wants a white dress with a yellow smile? But be sure to leave a few weeks between your teeth whitening and your wedding just in case you experience some of the side effects mentioned above.