Whitening Your Teeth at Home vs at the Dentist Office

One of the benefits of living during the time of the pandemic is that you are able to take a good look at yourself and make changes if you want to. Have you looked at your teeth lately? If you have, you know that your teeth may not be as white as you were hoping. In fact, they may look a little dingy. If your teeth are looking a little dull, one way to help your teeth out is through whitening agents. Thinking about whitening your teeth at home? Here are some tips about whitening your teeth at home vs. allowing the dentist to whiten your teeth.

Home Whitening Isn’t as Strong

If you only need to whiten your teeth a shade or two, you may want to try home whitening. Most whitening agents you can buy over the counter have the smallest concentration of peroxide possible as a whitening solution. This means that peroxide makes up less than 10% of the solution. If you only need to whiten your teeth a shade or two, you may want to try an over-the-counter whitening product, such as whitening strips.

However, if you are needing a stronger whitening agent, you need to go to the dentist. That is because dental offices can have products with up to 40% peroxide in them. Dentists can whiten your teeth a number of shades in very little time.

Why Do I Need to Whiten My Teeth Anyway?

You don’t have to whiten your teeth at all if you’re happy with the color of your teeth now. However, researchers have found that more than 80% of adults want whiter teeth. If you want to get your teeth whiter, you need to know that both at-home whitening agents and dental whitening agents say that you can only get your teeth as white as they are naturally. Everyone’s teeth are a different shade, and a lot depends on heredity, the thickness of your enamel, and how yellow your dentine is. Dentine is the layer of the tooth directly underneath your enamel. If the dentin underneath the enamel is yellow, there’s nothing we can do to whiten the dentin.

However, if your enamel has been stained with tea, coffee, nicotine, or other foods and beverage, we can help you whiten it considerably. If you have only a short amount of time to whiten your teeth, you’ll want to make a visit to the dentist--especially if your enamel needs a lot of whitening.

If you need some help getting that perfect white smile, why not give us a call? Our phone number is 212-752-7188. We’re located at 121 E. 60th Street, 10th Floor, New York, New York, 10022.