I received an advertisement for a teeth whitening kit called Premium Home Whitening. They showed before and after pictures that seem to look good but I know photoshop is a thing. Do you know anything about this teeth whitening product? Is it effective? If so, it is safe? I’m a little leary of things such as this but it’s $50 less than my dentist charges and I’m trying to save money. However, $50 is not worth causing damage to my teeth.
Leanne
Dear Leanne,
I looked at the ingredients for this teeth whitening kit and it appears to have a valid teeth whitening ingredient that will whiten your teeth. That being said, I have three particular concerns about this:
First, the light they talk about. There is no validity to this. In fact, I think it is there just for psychological reasons. This bothers me. I don’t like thinking that patients are being manipulated. I’d rather they advertise solely based on the quality of their product.
That leads me to a second issue. While the whitening ingredient is high quality, the tray is not. Look at the image of the bleaching trays I have above. When your teeth are whitened with a dentist, they make custom-fitted trays to snuggly and comfortably fit your bite. The tray they provide will lead to problems. It will not fit well and that will lead to both leakage and it leading to saliva weakening the effectiveness of the gel.
The final issue is a safety one. When you are not under the supervision of a dentist you may not recognize potential complications. I’ve known of patients using over-the-counter whitening products who ended up needing a root canal treatment. This is an even greater risk when the gums are not protected by a secure teeth whitening tray.
If saving the $50 is the only reason for using this kit, my suggestion is simply to tell your dentist about the advertisement and ask him if he’d be willing to do your whitening for the same price.
This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.
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