Even if you stick to near-ideal dental hygiene, you can still end up with stained teeth. Your age, the foods you eat and your lifestyle habits can all can lead to stains and yellowed teeth that aren’t exactly a perfect 10.
Fortunately for you, thanks to the availability of whitening toothpaste, you don’t always have to see your local Rancho Cucamonga Dentist to restore your gleaming grin. Before choosing a toothpaste that tells you it will whiten your teeth, our Rancho Cucamonga Dentist advise you to make sure you clearly understand the hows and whys so you can choose the right product.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
While there are a handful of options available on drugstore shelves, unfortunately, they are not all the same. It’s the active ingredients that make the real difference in how effectively the products whiten. Usually, toothpastes include one of three whitening ingredients:
Mild Abrasives
According to the American Dental Association (ADA), a few toothpastes contain mild abrasives that include ingredients such as magnesium carbonate, hydrated aluminum oxides and calcium carbonate. Abrasives can remove surface stains that might cause yellowing in order to reveal a whiter, brighter smile.
Hydrogen Peroxide
A low-dose version of hydrogen peroxide has a known whitening effect on teeth and is the active ingredient in whitening systems used in local Rancho Cucamonga Dentists‘ offices. While the concentration in whitening toothpastes is less than the amount in single-use products, hydrogen peroxide can create exceptional results (and is safe to use) with better longevity.
Carbamide Peroxide
Carbamide peroxide is essentially a whitening agent that breaks down into hydrogen peroxide. The main benefit of carbamide peroxide is that, according to a study published in the September 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, carbamide peroxide developed results more quickly than hydrogen peroxide in the first 14 days of the study. Nonetheless, the results between carbamide and hydrogen peroxide were comparable after 12 weeks of use.
Can I Use Whitening Products Daily?
As long as whitening products are indicated for daily use, our Rancho Cucamonga Dentist’ say you can use them on a regular basis. Some individuals might experience sensitivity when using products that contain hydrogen peroxide. You can easily solve this by alternating the whitening toothpaste with a regular or sensitive toothpaste each day.
How Much Time Does It Take to Start Noticing Results?
The period of time it takes for a product to whiten your teeth generally depends vastly on the components and the purpose of the toothpaste. If you happen to use a new toothpaste which contains hydrogen peroxide, you will see results a lot faster than if you use a whitening toothpaste that only has surface-stain removers.
Whitening your smile with daily brushing makes perfect sense. You’re brushing anyway, so you might as well whiten your teeth, too. Our Rancho Cucamonga Dentist’ say that by clearly getting the picture of what makes sense, you’ll have better control over which ingredients you use.
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