Dental whitening is a problem we’ve all come across. We are all accustomed with it and because it is so popular, the products and procedures available on the industry make it very easy to have a beautiful smile.

Dental whitening can be done at a professional’s office, of course, but there are also numerous at-home methods that you can resort to. There are strips, gels and pens that you can find in drug stores, the effects of which will last for plenty of months depending on the foods or drinks you consume or whether you smoke or not.

It is also important to take into consideration the concentration of the gel you will be using. Both low and high concentration dental whitening products are used at home, but most people choose the former. More dedicated procedures like power and internal bleaching or bonding require a dentist. In the case of the latter the discoloration of the dental enamel is heavy that the teeth will be covered in a thin coat of material.

Unfortunately, sooner or later you will have to resort to a professional dental whitening because some stains will not be removed or covered otherwise. This will take from half an hour to an hour. The at-home kit will usually come in with an oxidizing agent and a tray or mouth guard that will be kept in the mouth for a short period of time, around 20 minutes and which can be done as many rounds as you want, until the desired result. Such is the case for high concentrated gels, while for low concentrated gels you will have to wait from a few hours to repeating the operation above for two weeks.

Some manufacturers have designed a dental whitening system based on light that you can do at home and it takes only 10 minutes. It is the same light used by dentist and which penetrates deep into the teeth to remove the stains and accelerates the procedure. Halogen has been proven to be the best light for teeth whitening.

Before deciding on a method of dental whitening, you should be aware of the risks, such as chemical burns or increasing sensitivity of teeth. They disappear in one to three days but you should consult your dentist about you teeth’s sensitivity and frequency of use allowed before obtaining any product.