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Find the Best and Brightest Tooth Whiteners
By E.J. Mundell

This article appeared in the following publications:
Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, MT - August 24th, 2004
El Paso Times, El Paso, TX - August 23th, 2004
Journal & Courier, Lafayette, IN - August 24th, 2004
The Kentucky Enquirer, Fort Mitchell, KY - September 6th, 2004
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH - September 6th, 2004

Products and procedures that bring a gleam back to aging teeth are white-hot these days, with everyone seeking that perfect Julia Roberts smile. But what works best?

In many cases, experts say, that may depend on how much you want to pay.

At the dentist

"For the brightest smile, quickest, you'd want power bleaching in your dentist's office, and you'd back that up with tray bleaching at home," says Dr. Jeff Morley, a San Francisco cosmetic dentist and spokesman for the American Dental Association.

In "power bleaching," which usually achieves impressive results in just one or two half-hour sessions, the dentist applies a strong bleaching agent to the teeth. A special light is usually passed over the teeth to help activate the agent.

The procedure doesn't come cheap, however. "I would expect a price range somewhere between $500 to $1,000 per session," Morley says. "But it's the fastest way to get those kinds of results."

Another dentist-based treatment involves custom-fitted, take-home trays that patients can use to soak their teeth in bleaching solutions for a time. While not as immediately effective as dental chair power bleaching, "trays are a lot cheaper," Morley says, with prices ranging from $150 to $450 per set.

Tray products are also available at drugstores, but Morley doesn't recommend them, because "they don't usually fit as well."

At the drugstore

Two other whitening products can be picked up at the drugstore: rub-on gels, or tooth-whitening strips.

The strips "are a good, inexpensive approach that will work for some people," Morley says. With strips (around $25 for a two-week supply), consumers apply a peroxide-soaked plastic strip to the outside of the lower and upper front teeth for half-hour periods.

"If someone is interested in the whitening process, and they just want to try it out and don't want to spend a lot of money on it, then maybe the strips would be a good first choice for them," Morley says.

He's not so enthusiastic about rub-on peroxide gels or pastes, however. "On the one hand, the concentration of the whitening material isn't what you'd get from a dentist, and on the other hand, it simply doesn't stay on your teeth very well, so it doesn't work," he says.

Things to remember

Side effects are common and occur with almost every bleaching technique available, Morley says. "My advice, for anybody, is if their gums or teeth get sensitive, just stop using the product. If you're using an over-the-counter product and you're having trouble with it, call your dentist and ask what's going on."

Tooth sensitivity linked to whitening doesn't affect everyone, and it usually passes soon after treatments end.

The vast majority of people don't seem to mind a little discomfort if whitening restores their pearly whites. Morley does have one important caution for those contemplating the use of any whitening product, however.

"Tooth whiteners do not bleach out caps, bonding, porcelain veneers," he says "So if you have discolored restorations in the front where it shows, then you really need to be talking with your dentist as to what needs to be done."