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	Dr Minh Nguyen

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Beacon at the Harbor's Entrance

white teeth You don’t have to be rich or famous to look like you are rich or famous. Recent innovations in over-the-counter (OTC) cosmetic dentistry products can now give you a smile that is so bright that you need to warn people to put on their sunglasses before you enter the room!

Recently, the American Dental Association (ADA) surveyed dentists and discovered that tooth whitening was the number one dental procedure requested by 40–60 year old baby boomers. A whopping 64 percent of their patients were eager to have their teeth shine like lighthouse beacons guiding ships through a dense fog.

The September 2006 issue of Dentistry Today reported that nearly 1 billion dollars in OTC whitening products were sold in North America alone! That’s a lot of lighthouse beacons. Several dental care product manufacturers offer OTC tooth whitening products for those who prefer the do-it-yourself approach.

Throw me a life preserver

With so much interest in tooth whitening, one might wonder about the safety and effectiveness of those OTC products, as well as the differences between professional and OTC whitening. There are advantages and disadvantages of each. For example, advantages of the do-it-yourself treatment are convenience and cost: you don’t need to schedule an office appointment, especially if you work, and you will spend less on the OTC product. However, before you dash out and buy an OTC whitener, you need to weigh the disadvantages of that tooth zing. To some, the disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages. For example, no guidance or supervision from a dental professional and the possible damage resulting from the incorrect customer use of the OTC product could regrettably cancel any advantage.

Let’s try to sort this out. There is a way to ensure that any OTC dental product is safe to use and actually does what its advertisements claim that it will do: Check for the ADA seal of approval. The ADA is a non-profit organization whose goal is to protect consumers’ health by thoroughly testing OTC dental products to verify the manufacturer's claims. Products that pass the ADAs rigorous testing receive the coveted seal of approval. Additionally, OTC whitening products have to prove that they do not harm the teeth or soft tissues in the mouth.

Caveat emptor—Let the buyer beware

Your dental professionals have many years of education and training in dental procedures. Avoiding that priceless treasure chest of knowledge and skill could wipe out any hoped-for benefit of a do-it-yourself treatment program, especially to add a cosmetic zing to your smile.

If you do choose to go it alone without professional guidance, you must be absolutely, without-a doubt certain that you know how to use the OTC product correctly. There are times when a mistake can be corrected; however, the downside of rolling the dice is that a mistake can last a lifetime. Ask anyone who has gone to Las Vegas, and they will likely tell you that the roll of the dice does not have good odds in your favor.

Okay, knowing the pitfalls of do-it-yourself tooth whitening treatment, you still plan on doing your own zing. Please consider this: your dental professionals know—

more about dental procedures than you ever will,
which treatments and products are right for you considering what you want to accomplish, and
his or her advice, when followed as recommended, will set you up for success.

Before you embark on your do-it-yourself program, schedule an appointment for a dental examination. Your dentist can determine the cause of your tooth discoloration. Is it from coffee, tea or blueberries, or is it pathological? Some causes are irreversible. Some pathological causes do not respond to OTC treatments. They respond only to the more powerful and professional treatments that are approved to be performed by a dentist or hygienist. According to Kristy Menage Bernie, a registered dental hygienist and dental hygiene consultant, some products you see on television and on the Internet are not safe or reliable. The product can be swallowed, and it might damage your tooth enamel. She also warns anyone considering OTC treatments that they can’t produce the amount of zing that a professional tooth whitening procedure can.

Old technology is now “new” technology

Over the counter whitening After all this warning, you’ve definitely decided that OTC tooth whitening is the plan, but now you are overwhelmed by the hundreds of products available. Which to buy? First, let’s start with a quick history lesson, followed by a science lesson so you can understand how tooth whiteners work and then move on to specific products.

Hydrogen peroxide has been used in dentistry for over 100 years, but it wasn’t until 1966 that the whitening feature of hydrogen peroxide was noticed—by accident—when it was used to control periodontal disease. In 1989, hydrogen peroxide was added to a nightguard.

Most OTC and all professional tooth whitening products use some form of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent that is used in industry (turns brown paper slurries to white paper slurries) and medicine (kills anaerobic bacteria—grow without air—and bleaches teeth). For dental purposes, hydrogen peroxide can be delivered in a film or strip, toothpaste, floss, tooth brushes, trays and paint, and in chewing gum. All forms of peroxide break down into hydrogen peroxide, which converts to water and oxygen. It is the oxygen that produces the whitening effect.

Zillions of OTC products

Bleaching tray The newest craze in in-home whitening is the introduction of the tray. Blurp in a gel, smoosh the tray of gel onto your upper or lower teeth before you go to bed, get up and smile into the mirror. Not quite the zing you expected because it can take as long as six weeks of home treatment before you notice any difference in whiteness. This is because OTC products are approved for only low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide; whereas, your dentist uses products that are approved for high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Bedtime tray products include Opalescence PF, Nupro White Gold, Nite White Turbo and PolaNight. Daytime tray products include Opalescence PF, Rembrandt XTRA-Comfort, Natural Elegance, JustSmile, Perfecta Brav?, PolaDay, and Trèswhite.

Some products have an added ingredient that decreases tooth sensitivity; these include Opalescence, Opalescence PF, UltraEZ, Den-Mat Desensitize, and Relief.

On the other hand, in-office whitening includes those that are light-activated, such as LaserSmile, ArcBrite, BriteSmile, Rembrandt Lightening Plus, Zoom, and LumaWhite Plus.

Power whitening In-office treatments that do not use a curing light include Illuminé, OfficeWhite, Perfection White, Niveous, and Opalescence Xtra Boost.

So you can see, there are important decisions you need to make and product choices to make. If you decide to stay with the known quantity, sit back in the dentist chair and zis-boom-bah, instant zing! Where are my sunglasses; this beacon is too bright!