Store-bought Whiteners 'a Good Place To Start' If Teeth Are Healthy
"I see young gals come in here in their teens, and they have beautiful white teeth, and they'll want their teeth whiter," said the 23-year dentist. "Many times I'll talk them out of it."
"There's a lot of pressure on young women and young men."
He said whitening is fine for appearances, but it takes more than that for a truly healthy smile. And for those with problems such as cavities, gum disease and sensitivity, vanity may prove painful.
"People who have a lot of cavities or mouth ulcerations of any kind need to be really careful as far as bleaching," Ferguson said.
Ferguson favors in-office whitening over store-bought products, which can be "hit or miss," he said.
"Having a dentist oversee things is certainly better than just having them pick something off the shelf that might be harmful to them," he said.
Both the store kits and those in the dentist's office use the same ingredients -- hydrogen carbamide and hydrogen peroxide -- but in different concentrations. Dentist-grade kits are stronger than the strips, gels and trays you'll find at your local supermarket, and the effects are more immediate and longer lasting, Ferguson said.
Kits range in price from $6 to $40. At Ferguson's office, it's $150 per arch. Some patients may opt for whitening just their top set of teeth, especially those who don't tend to flash a lot of bottom teeth in their grins.
Either way, Ferguson often applies the whitening one at a time so patients can compare.
"That way, I feel people are getting their money's worth," he said.
The whole process takes about three weeks, but can be sped up by increasing the chemical concentration. Over-the-counter products boast whiter teeth within a few minutes.
Dr. Ryan Brunworth, of Beautiful Smiles Family Dentistry, 513 Seminole, said store-bought whiteners won't work as fast, but it's "a good place to start" if you've got a healthy mouth.
Brunsworth said the whitening trays tend to pack more punch if they're custom fit rather than one size fits all like in the over-the-counter kits.
"If your teeth are rotated or crooked in certain places, the bleach isn't going to have as much contact as with a custom tray," Brunworth said.
Brunworth advises getting a proper cleaning before trying either method to maximize results.
"If you have a lot of plaque buildup, you're not going to get the results you'd see if you got a cleaning right beforehand," he said.
Some may be bummed to see their fillings and crowns not keeping pace with the rest of their grill. Filling materials such as porcelain are much more resistant to treatment than tooth enamel, the dentists said.
And if you've got an unsightly brown spot you're looking to snuff, it could be more than a blemish, Brunworth said.
"People might think they have a dark stain on their tooth that could be fixed by bleaching, but it could be the beginning of a cavity," he said.
By Aaron Ogg - Chronicle special writer
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