A Look at Teeth Whitening Gel

Today it seems like more and more people want to have whiter teeth. In fact, this trend is literally fueling a boom in the cosmetic dentistry profession. It used to be that dentists repaired and maintained our teeth. Their main job was to keep our teeth healthy. But now, they do more, they also transform our smiles into brilliant, dazzling things of beauty.

To do this, dentists have used a combination of approaches. Various whitening treatments have been developed over the years including most recently, laser teeth whitening. All of these approaches have been geared to get the whitest teeth possible in the shortest amount of time. But no matter what the approach, whether it be chemical or electronic, the key ingredient in all of them has been teeth whitening gel.

All the teeth whitening gels of today are the descendants of the first teeth whitener, hydrogen peroxide. In the 1960’s it was discovered that hydrogen peroxide was not only useful in the treatment of gums but that it could also remove teeth stains and whiten teeth. That led to the first whitening treatments which relied heavily on various mixtures of peroxide. These early solutions had high concentrations of peroxide and could easily irritate or even burn the softer tissues in the mouth. For that reason, these early treatments were always administered by dentists in their offices to safeguard their patients.

In the 1980’s teeth whitening and teeth whitening devices began to hit the mainstream. A carbamide peroxide gel applied to both the upper and lower teeth through the use of a form-fitting dental tray became widely used. Both trays and gel were only available through your dentist and all treatments were still only done in the dentist’s office. This was due in most part because the trays needed customized fitting for each patient and the gels were still strong enough to irritate patients – especially patients with sensitive teeth. But by the end of the 80’s though, over-the-counter teeth whitening products began to appear at local drug stores and grocery stores.

Those first widely available whitening gels had very low concentrations of peroxide. This was designed to specifically protect consumers. It was thought that without a dentist to supervise, most consumers wouldn’t be able to properly administer the treatments and that a significant number would end up with burns or irritations. From a protection standpoint, those products worked well but from a whitening standpoint, they didn’t. The low concentrations just didn’t provide enough whitening power.

In recent years though, several different concentrations of bleaching gel have become widely available. It’s now possible to purchase over-the-counter teeth whitening gels that have peroxide concentrations anywhere from 1% all the way up to 30% and more. But with that wide a range in bleaching power it’s very important to fully understand how to properly use whatever gel you buy. 

Teeth whitening gels are not identical. For instance, each concentration will have different recommended treatment times and durations. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if 30 minutes at 3 times-a-day for a couple weeks is the instruction for one whitening gel that the same usage will be safe with another. And don’t think that you can produce even whiter teeth by applying a gel more often than recommended because the chances are better that you’ll only succeed in harming the enamel on your teeth or irritating your gums.

Every whitening treatment on the market today relies on some kind of bleaching gel formula. Everything from whitening toothpaste to laser whitening treatments, from whitening strips to whitening pens all use some peroxide mixture to accomplish their whitening. And the list of available products just keeps growing.

What used to be the province of the dental office has now been out-sourced to the consumer. Many dentists even prefer that their patients use trays and home teeth whitening treatments instead of office visits. But whatever method, technique, or product you choose, it’s important to remember that proper tooth bleaching will only happen when the teeth whitening gel is applied evenly to all of the tooth surfaces that need bleaching – and for the prescribed amount of time. So any at-home whitening therapy needs to be careful and consistent to produce the best results.

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