Posted by writeradmin
I want to whiten my teeth but my dentist charges a pretty penny. I’ve noticed there are a ton of whitening kits that you can buy just at Walmart or pretty much everywhere, even online. Why are they so much cheaper?
Stanley
Dear Stanley,
There are two main reasons that over the counter whitening kits are cheaper than what you would get with your dentist. The first is the strength. Over the counter kits are limited in the strength of the whitening gel that they provide. This is for the safety of the patient, who are using it on their own and not under the care of a dentist.
Because of that, you will not save as much money as you think, if any. You will have to purchase a LOT of kits to get the same amount of whitening you would get from a dentist. I would bet if you did the math you would end up paying more by the time you finished getting all the kits.
A second reason is that you are not under the care of a dentist. Before a dentist gives you professional teeth whitening they will do a careful examination of your teeth. This is to make sure there aren’t any places where you could end up with problems from the whitening, such as exposed dentin or damaged fillings.
I’ve read a couple of cases about people who ended up needing a root canal treatment after getting an over the counter kit. Another woman I know of ended up having a lot of pain with her over the counter whitening because she didn’t realize that some bonding she had done had a small exposed part.
The best way to get your teeth whitened is through your dentist with professional strength gel that works fast.
Whichever way you decide to go, make sure you get your teeth cleaned before you start the whitening. A good dentist will insist on this. Otherwise your results will be splotchy and uneven. You want to start the whitening on the cleanest surface possible.
This blog is brought to you by a friendly dentist in Baton Rouge Dr. John Theriot.
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