It is easy to get overwhelmed or even confused by the entire different tooth whitening systems available today. However, there are only two main categories of whitening products. These are over the counter, or store bought products like Crest White Strips™ and others. The other category is prescription strength whitening products that you can only get through your dentist. Prescription strength whitening systems can be further categorized in two more categories. These categories are “take home" products, like bleaching trays or the newer “paint -on” products, or “in office” whitening systems like Zoom 2 ™and many others that are available today.
	So the first topic I will address is the OTC (over the counter) whitening products. These products are fine to use for some people, but safety regulations mandate that they can only be so strong. This means that individuals with darker teeth will not usually see the desired results. I usually recommend these products to patients who have bleached their teeth before with fairly good results and who are just looking for a “touch up”. Another thing to consider is that many of these OTC products do not cover the entire dental arch, but mainly the front teeth since there is no custom made tray to deliver the product safely to all of the teeth.
	For prescription strength whitening systems, I always make my treatment recommendations on an individual patient by patient basis. I look at the patient’s age because teeth get a little more stubborn to whiten with age. I look at past bleaching experiences. For example, how light or dark are the patients teeth now? Was the patient satisfied with past whitening attempts? I look at how compliant I think the patient will be with my recommendations, especially for take home products. I also look at how sensitive the patient’s teeth are or have been in the past. These are just some of the basic criteria that need to be considered by your dentist before the best whitening program can be prescribed. A “one size fits all” approach just doesn’t come close to working for most people.
	The main differences with prescription” take home “and “in-office” whitening systems are the concentration of the bleaching chemicals. The “in- office” systems are typically much higher in bleaching concentrations and require a trained professional to apply the product only after extreme safety precautions have been taken, like careful isolation of the lips, tongue, and cheeks. These higher concentration systems do get teeth whiter faster, but they do usually have a little more sensitivity associated with them. Used alone, the patient may notice dramatic differences right away, but these results can fade quicker as well.
	My recommendation for patients who want to use one of our “in-office” systems is to invest in some prescription strength “take home" products as well. For patients with darker teeth, or for patients who want the whitest teeth possible, my treatment recommendations usually involve a combination of “in-office” and prescription “take home” systems.
	I want to also address some of the most common questions I get asked about tooth whitening products and systems. The first question is “Does tooth whitening harm enamel and tooth structure”? My answer to this is based on the most current research and the answer is no. There is no evidence of any harm to enamel or any tooth structure with any of the products or systems available today. The second question I get is “will bleaching make my teeth sensitive”? My answer to this is usually yes. However this will vary greatly from patient to patient. Patients that usually have sensitive teeth need to be careful and should expect more sensitivity with any whitening product.
	I have had many patients report having no sensitivity whatsoever. The vast majority of patients should expect some mild to moderate sensitivity that will usually dissipate quickly after the first few days of whitening and will be gone completely after the whitening process is finished. There are now special prescription de-sensitizing products that we can give to patients that can help to eliminate sensitivity during and after the whitening process.
	Another question I have been getting lately has to do with the recent influx of shopping mall whitening centers. I really want to warn people about these places since there are typically no trained dental staff and especially no licensed dentists on location. This means that no one at these types of places can professionally clean your teeth first which is mandatory for achieving results (plaque doesn’t bleach well). It is also illegal and unsafe for them to administer prescription strength products without a dental license.
	What I have seen is that that they get around this by administering a take- home type of bleach which is much weaker and passing it off as an “in-office” whitening system when it is nothing of the sort. These places are scams and are quick money making operations. Anyone I have talked to that has visited these places has been seriously disappointed so save your money and go to your local dentist or call Agnini Family Dental Center for the real thing today.