Ever since the cosmetic dentistry has emerged, teeth whitening continues to gain fame in the dental industry. People from all over the world fell in love with this dental procedure due to a lot of good reasons– budget, benefits and time frame. As we all know, teeth whitening works. This is true regardless of what form of teeth whitening you have decided to employ. Everyone, who have tried out home bleaching kits or have taken advantage of bleaching sessions in a dental clinic, have seen moderate to significant improvement in the color of their teeth. If you plan on having your teeth whitened soon, here are some of the things that you should know about:

Bleaching or Whitening?

These are two different terms that you should learn to differentiate. For one, bleaching is a process that should be employed when the teeth must be whitened beyond the natural color that it has. For this process, products that contain carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide is employed. On the other hand, teeth whitening is the term used to denote the proceed wherein the tooth’s natural color is restored. This can be done by removing any debris or dirt on the teeth.

Teeth Whitening Choices

Today, there are actually three teeth whitening choices that you can choose from. Here are some information you need to learn about these choices:

• Professional teeth whitening

A lot of people choose this option because of one simple benefit– significant change in color in just a short period of time. In this teeth whitening option, high amounts of highly concentrated bleach is applied by the dentist. This is done once the gums have been protected with the use of a rubber dam that can be painted on. Of course, this is made available at a higher price but its efficacy and safety is incomparable.

• Whitening kits from the dentist

If the stains in the teeth are too stubborn, many dentists would advise patients to make use of whitening kits that they dispense. These kits include a peroxide gel at a lower concentration. The kit is quite easy to apply however it should stay in the teeth for a longer period of time.

• OTC teeth whitening kit

This is considered to be the most convenient and affordable option among the three. The gel that comes with this kit has the lowest concentration of all options. This can be applied by painting on the teeth or with the use of whitening strips. Among the three, this is also considered the least effective of all.

Finding the Right Shade

When you choose to have your teeth whitened in a dental clinic, you can find the right shade for your teeth. Unlike with the use of OTC whitening kit, each and every step of the whole process are controlled and supervised by knowledgeable experts. Because of this, you will not have to worry about making your teeth too white. Dentists have a shade guide which features a wide array of tooth colors labelled with a shade number. All you need to do is to tell them what shade number you wish to have so they can be able to determine how much peroxide should be used.