Teeth Whitening
- Thread starter A320_phill
- Start date
Right, sorry about that. Bleaching in general works by passing though the enamel and "bleaching" the chromogens that build up in the dentine over the years, and as the enamel gets thinner (ironically a lot of whitening toothpastes are abrasive and on a microscopic level cause more wear and are full of detergents) this dentine becomes even more obvious to the eye.
Like the sensodyne adverts there are loads of little tubes in the dentine that communicate directly with the nerve/pulp endings, so the bleach will easily irritate these endings and the tooth can become hypersensitive for a short time after, and even during the process. For this reason you want to make sure you have no cavitities./holes or it will sting! The gums will likely get sore as the wash out from the strips or trays will cause mild burns, but the saliva will buffer it from causing any more damage. Anyway, I'm waffling...
The bit you want to know - the colgate strips should work, and I know people who have used them. Obviously, I have to state that I'm not saying you should or can use them, if you get my drift but they contain the same/similar active ingredients, albeit a little stronger. However, there is a lot less bleach on a strip than in the tray that you would fill from your dentist, so actually the wash out onto the gums shouldn't be as bad. One of the reasons that you can't get them off the shelf in the UK is all to do with drug licensing laws, the percentage of bleach permitted for use in the UK doesn't allow for this to be sold, all a load of rubbish imo.
re: the whitening at a practice - you will get nice even coverage using proper trays, and they can be reused and more bleach bought in the future. It was mentioned earlier that the whitening from a practice didn't last - it should. However, when you have the "light" shone onto the teeth by some dentists, one thing that does is speeds the bleaching reaction, but it also dehydrates the tooth and so when you leave immediately you have a really light effect, which fades after a short time usually but should get back to that with the home bleaching you take back with you. Teeth will always pick up more staining so it will need to be repeated as and when. Use sensodyne a few weeks before you start whitening, it can help reduce sensitivity.
Saying all of this with a lay hat on, don't be holding me responsible for anything
Like the sensodyne adverts there are loads of little tubes in the dentine that communicate directly with the nerve/pulp endings, so the bleach will easily irritate these endings and the tooth can become hypersensitive for a short time after, and even during the process. For this reason you want to make sure you have no cavitities./holes or it will sting! The gums will likely get sore as the wash out from the strips or trays will cause mild burns, but the saliva will buffer it from causing any more damage. Anyway, I'm waffling...
The bit you want to know - the colgate strips should work, and I know people who have used them. Obviously, I have to state that I'm not saying you should or can use them, if you get my drift but they contain the same/similar active ingredients, albeit a little stronger. However, there is a lot less bleach on a strip than in the tray that you would fill from your dentist, so actually the wash out onto the gums shouldn't be as bad. One of the reasons that you can't get them off the shelf in the UK is all to do with drug licensing laws, the percentage of bleach permitted for use in the UK doesn't allow for this to be sold, all a load of rubbish imo.
re: the whitening at a practice - you will get nice even coverage using proper trays, and they can be reused and more bleach bought in the future. It was mentioned earlier that the whitening from a practice didn't last - it should. However, when you have the "light" shone onto the teeth by some dentists, one thing that does is speeds the bleaching reaction, but it also dehydrates the tooth and so when you leave immediately you have a really light effect, which fades after a short time usually but should get back to that with the home bleaching you take back with you. Teeth will always pick up more staining so it will need to be repeated as and when. Use sensodyne a few weeks before you start whitening, it can help reduce sensitivity.
Saying all of this with a lay hat on, don't be holding me responsible for anything
By the seaside...
