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Whitening one's teeth is fast becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the western world, despite the onslaught of the recession. It seems more and more people are striving for perfection in terms of outward appearance because they know that such remedies and treatments exist. But, being the intelligent consumer, they are looking for the best deals.
Here are some of the most popular tooth whitening products.
Strips
Strips are one of the most popular less expensive means of whitening one's teeth. They generally retail for as less as $5. A set of strips, like the strips Colgate or Crest offer, compose of flexible plastic strips that contain an artificial bleaching agent and adhesive. The idea then is to apply the strips to the teeth for about an hour before ripping off the strip. The big disadvantage here is that due to the strips being mass produced they rarely fit your teeth perfectly, which can then often result in comical half white half yellow teeth. Furthermore the degree of whitening is fairly scant
Gels
Whitening Gels came on the scene roughly about 5 years ago, and in my opinion they were a step up from the whitening strips. In essence, you wear a mouth-guard (or a teeth tray, to give it its proper name) that contains the whitening gel for roughly about two hours. Again, while the results are better, it does restrict where can go, unless you're comfortable walking around town with a mouth-guard on.
Swabs
Swabs are the newest type of whitening products to hit our shelves in the last few months. What makes them so popular is that they are time efficient and can easily be incorporated into one's brushing schedule.
They make use of cotton swabs that contain a whitening liquid within. This is then applied in conjunction with a special magnesium powder to whiten your teeth effortlessly.
The other main attribute and advantage of this new innovation is that you can decide on which teeth you think deserve the most attention.
The swab technique has now become so popular in recent months that due to the positive feedback and demand that exists, many companies have no problems in offering free trials of these products.
Healthy Teeth
It is advisable though that before you whiten your teeth with any of the above products, that you take steps to lay down a good foundation. This means creating healthy teeth.
Many methods of maintaining healthy teeth consist of amongst others; brushing teeth daily, cutting down on coffee and tea consumption, eating vitamin c rich fruits and gargling water to remove particles that are stuck between teeth.
What The Dentist Offers
If you decide to take the more expensive route for the same quality teeth, it is important to read this as this is what you will hear in your first consult which you will have to pay for.
You will either be offered composite resin or veneer bonding.
Composite resin bonding involves reducing your teeth before attaching foreign tooth particles that are connected by microscopic grooves made by a mild acid. The new teeth are then polished to bring about a new shade of whiteness.
Veneer bonding occurs when a sheet of porcelain is placed on the teeth. This is more stronger than the tooth particles and in most cases last for up to 5 years. Unfortunately the biggest drawback is that it is very expensive.
Another disadvantage with the dental procedures is that they can indirectly lead to premature rot and decay as it is impossible to clean the ''old part of the teeth'' due to them being covered with the porcelain or other tooth particles. So by removing your extrinsic stains you are creating intrinsic ones.