What is in-office whitening?

With in-office bleaching at the dentist, the teeth are bleached directly in the practice. This usually takes around an hour.

Since 32 percent hydrogen peroxide is used for whitening, the gums are initially covered with a light blue plastic paste to protect them. Then the bleach is applied. Once the bleaching agent has been applied to the teeth, a blue light lamp accelerates the bleaching process.

By the way: 32 percent hydrogen peroxide is the same strength as the peroxide used in hair coloring.

How does home whitening work?

Patients who would like to do the whitening themselves can also ask their dentist about home bleaching options. For this purpose, specially made bleaching trays are used. The splint is ideally worn for two to three hours a day or night for a period of approximately two weeks.

To do this, a small amount of bleaching gel is always poured into the splint and then inserted. This type of whitening gel only contains about 8.5 percent hydrogen peroxide, so it doesn't work as intensively as the in-office method.

Advantages of home whitening

The advantage of home bleaching is that the patient can bleach themselves. You can also bleach your teeth yourself after two to three years if your teeth have darkened a little again. The disadvantage, however, is that by inserting the splint, a lot of bleaching gel can be swallowed, especially overnight.

How risky is bleaching?

When used properly, the whitening products available on the market from dental practices as well as pharmacies or drugstores are harmless. What can always occur are certain side effects such as hypersensitivity of the teeth or irritation of the gums. These are side effects that disappear within 24 hours or after a few days at the latest.

The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in bleaching preparations was set in an EU regulation in 2012 to protect consumers. Home bleaching gels may contain a maximum of 6 percent hydrogen peroxide. In so-called “do-it-yourself” products from pharmacies or drugstores, a maximum of 0.1 percent.

Caution: Even with some tooth whitening pastes, coarse abrasives can lead to extreme hypersensitivity of the teeth.

Note: This video is an extract from the SWR health magazine Doc Fischer from August 8th, 2022: https://youtu.be/N4IeebuQOV0

Source:

SWR market check / Author: Beate Bastian

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