Little White Lie #1
The Lie: The best way to get whiter teeth is to use whitening toothpastes.
The Truth: No one would argue that you shouldn't brush your teeth regularly and whitening toothpaste certainly couldn't hurt. Brushing your teeth is vital to the health of your teeth as well as being a basic tenet of good hygiene. However, the ingredients in whitening toothpastes just don't spend enough time in direct contact with your teeth to provide the kind of results that people tend to believe that they have.
Your saliva prevents the whitening agents in these toothpastes from being in contact long enough to do any real good in terms of tooth whitening. The active ingredients in these toothpastes are also usually present in such low concentrations that even if they did spend enough time in contact with your teeth, they still wouldn't be terribly effective. They're a great idea, but whitening toothpastes really don't do anything that regular toothpastes don't.
Little White Lie #2
The Lie: Having your dentist whiten your teeth is the best way to get a brighter, whiter smile.
The Truth: "Best" can be an ambiguous word sometimes. It is true that your dentist can perform tooth whitening procedures for you. However, it's not necessarily the case that this is the best way of whitening your teeth. The whitening agents which dentists use in these procedures are generally hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide: the same whitening agents found in at home tooth whitening products.
How effective a tooth whitening system is depends on the concentration of the active ingredients in the gel and how long these whiteners are in direct contact with your teeth.
You can get the same results by using a whitening solution with a high concentration of peroxide for a short time (this is the general rule with a whitening procedure performed by a dentist) or using a whitening solution containing a lower concentration of peroxide for a longer time (the way that at home teeth whitening systems usually work).
There is one significant difference between at home whitening and a whitening procedure which your dentist performs in his or her office however: price. The cost of doing it yourself is one fourth to one eighth of the price of having your dentist whiten your teeth.
Little White Lie #3
The Lie: Every tooth whitening product works equally well.
The Truth: It is decidedly not the case that all tooth whitening products are created equal. There are some products which work quite well, while others don't really work at all.
The difference generally comes down to the ingredients used in the product. Different whitening gels differ in their concentration of active ingredients - and thus in the degree to which they are effective. Before making a purchase, you should look at the different products; some are made for specific types and levels of staining.
Little White Lie #4
The Lie: Tooth whitening can damage your teeth and gums.
The Truth: There is no risk of damage to your teeth or gums from using tooth whiteners. The whitening gel is applied directly to your teeth, where the whitening agents oxidize the organic deposits which cause staining. While it doesn't cause any damage to your teeth or gums, it is possible to have some sensitivity in your teeth following the procedure; however, this is only a temporary effect. You can reduce this sensitivity by reducing the amount of time that the whitening gel is in contact with the surface of your teeth.
Gum irritation happens to some users, though this is usually due to a tray which is improperly designed and allows the whitening gel to contact the gums - a compelling argument to use the at home tooth whitening systems which include custom whitening trays.
Little White Lie #5
The Lie: Using whitening strips is the best way to get whiter teeth.
The Truth: Our teeth are as unique as we are. This means that it's impossible to design a whitening strip which can actually maintain contact with the entire surface of our teeth. Even in a best case scenario, these strips can only help whiten the front surface of your teeth, with grooves in the teeth and the gaps between your teeth left unaffected by the whitening strip. What these strips cause is uneven tooth whitening, leaving a striped appearance, with stains apparent on the parts of the teeth which they don't cover. Many consider this to actually be worse than the original problem!
Little White Lie #6
The Lie: Thermoform trays are just as effective as custom-fitted whitening trays.
The Truth: This is just simply not true. Thermoform trays have the same problem as do whitening strips; they don't take into account the fact that everyone's teeth are different. After all, you wouldn't expect someone else's dentures to fit. Custom whitening trays are designed to perfectly conform to your teeth and as such, they don't leave behind unwhitened areas like a thermoform tray will, since they stay in contact with your teeth. Custom trays also have the advantage of reducing the possibility of gum irritation, since little to no whitening gel can escape from the tray during the whitening process.
Little White Lie #7
The Lie: The paint on tooth whitening products are the easiest and therefore the best at home tooth whitening products
The Truth: If only it were so easy! These products sound like a good idea, but they have the same problem as whitening toothpastes - your saliva will tend to wash away the whitening agent. These products also usually contain very low concentrations of the active ingredient to prevent irritation to your gums and lips.
There are other products of this type which don't really whiten at all, being nothing more than a cover-up which does nothing to remove stains.
Little White Lie #8
The Lie: Teeth whitening systems which use electroluminescence in conjunction with a whitening gel work better than systems which only use a gel because of the high-tech light technology activating the ingredients of the gel
The Truth: These products are nothing new; what they are is ineffective. The electroluminescence used in these products don't do anything except for look pretty. There is no added effect to these products by virtue of this light and it's not necessary to remove staining and get whiter teeth. This is a marketing ploy, plain and simple.
Little White Lie #9
The Lie: Tooth bleaching procedures work the same for everyone.
The Truth: Everyone's teeth are different and so are the stains which they have. Some stains are more difficult to remove than others with bleaching. Yellowish stains are the easiest to bleach, with brownish stains being somewhat more difficult and grayish stains being more difficult still.
Little White Lie #10
The Lie: Swallowing tooth whitening solutions causes internal injury.
The Truth: There is about a 100% chance that you'll swallow at least a little bit of tooth whitening gel regardless of which tooth whitening system you choose. It's not harmful, though it does have an odd taste.
Before you buy any teeth whitening products online please view the rest of the teeth whitening lies at Teeth Whitening Little White Lies and also to download the information as a PDF file and see further essential health and purchase information.Also see more information about Buy Smile Strips.
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