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There are a variety of at-home products and methods on the market today that claim to deliver effective dental whitening. Some of these methods and products work better than others and some do not actually work at all. The active ingredient in whitening gel is very important. The most effective systems utilize Carbamide Peroxide in a concentration of 10% - 22%. Non glycerin-based formulas containing concentrations of 15% - 16% Carbamide Peroxide yield the best results without causing unnecessary irritation.
 All VHL dental whitening products are labeled in compliance with FDA guidelines and will show percentage of active ingredients (such as 16% Carbamide Peroxide). We do not package our products in unmarked containers, tubes and/or syringes.
Listed below are the popular methods for at-home dental whitening.
 Professional ProLab Dental Bleaching Systems provide the most comfortable and effective form of at-home dental bleaching. These are the systems that are provided by virtually every professional dental office for at-home whitening. Precision mouthpieces are created at a dental lab using impressions of your teeth easily made at home. These impressions are then forwarded to a dental lab so that mouthpieces can be created and forwarded back to the patient. Precision mouthpieces are comfortable to wear and minimize gum sensitivities. Professional systems promote a uniform whitening of teeth with minimal usage of whitening gel. Professional systems usually contain active ingredient, Carbamide Peroxide 10% - 22%. NOTE- Carbamide Peroxide 17% or higher may cause increased sensitivities and irritation.
Boil-n-Bite Bleaching Systems provide the same efficacy of professional systems without the comforts of the lab-created dental trays. Custom mouthpieces promote uniform whitening of the teeth. Boil & Bite systems usually contain active ingredient, Carbamide Peroxide 10% - 22%, but sometimes may contain a very small or undisclosed percentage of active ingredient or non-professional active ingredient. Be sure the labeling clearly identifies the type and percentage of active ingredient in these systems. NOTE - Carbamide Peroxide 17% or higher may cause increased sensitivities and irritation.
Non-Moldable Tray Bleaching Systems are not very effective and usually contain weaker concentrations of the active whitening agent. In some cases they do not use professional ingredients at all. Many of these system utilize a single dual-arch mouthpiece that will not allow you to talk, drink or breath properly when using. These mouthpieces are also usually made from inferior plastics or foam and can cause uneven whitening (or striping) of the teeth.
Whitening (Bleaching) Strips are mildly effective over the long run, but do not provide comparable results with dental bleaching system using moldable trays. Many people who have used whitening strips then purchase mouthpiece-based whitening system to significantly whiten their teeth or correct any uniformity issues created by whitening strips. In order to obtain the level of whitening provided by mouthpiece-based whitening systems, you will probably need to use four to six boxes of whitening strips. Problems noted with whitening strips are nonuniform whitening of the teeth. Many people who use whitening strips inadvertently create a yellow stripe across the area of teeth just before the gums (the more whitening strips that are used, the more pronounced this yellow stripe becomes). Whitening strips provide incomplete coverage of all visible teeth (only the front 4-6 teeth are covered while leaving all other teeth unbleached). Also, whitening strips have an extremely short shelf-life. Because whitening strips utilize hydrogen peroxide as its active ingredient (not carbamide peroxide as used in professional dental offices), shelf-life of this system is very short. This means that by the time a package of whitening strips is manufactured, warehoused, distributed and shelved at a retail shop, the active ingredient may already be deactivated or have lost the majority of its whitening power.
Whitening Toothpastes and Whitening Sprays are not very effective and will probably not give you the results that you desire. This is due to a very simple reason. With whitening toothpastes and sprays, there may not be an effective active ingredient and if there is an effective active ingredient, it is not held against your teeth for the length of time required to generate significant results.
There are a variety of at-home dental whitening products on the market which contain the approved ingredients and methodology needed to obtain effective results. Use the following easy-to-measure criterion to compare the effectiveness and value of the many dental whitening systems on the market today.
CARBAMIDE PEROXIDE - If a dental whitening system does not contain carbamide peroxide, it probably won't give you the results you want. Whitening gels should contain from 10% to 20% carbamide peroxide. The higher the percentage of carbamide peroxide, the more powerful the formula. Be aware that a high percentage (20%) of carbamide peroxide may cause unnecessary tooth and gum irritation. Also, buyer beware of any product that is delivered in unmarked containers, tubes and/or syringes or any product that does not specify the actual percentage of active ingredient. MOLDABLE MOUTHPIECES - An effective whitening system must contain moldable mouthpieces for your teeth. The whitening gel is required to stay in contact with the surface of your teeth for a length of time in order to be effective. This is why whitening toothpastes, whitening sprays and swabs do not work. Without the use of a moldable mouthpiece, you will see problematic and inconsistent results. There are two types of moldable mouthpieces, the boil-n-bite type and the professional lab-created (ProLab) type. Both are effective, but lab-created mouthpieces may be more convenient and comfortable to use. Quality Whitening kits will provide you with an additional mouthpiece (or materials to create impressions). Sometimes a patient may destroy a mouthpiece during the molding process. and it is always nice to have an extra one just in case. QUANTITY OF WHITENING GEL - The number one complaint of at-home dental bleaching patients is that they did not receive enough whitening gel to get the job done. You must receive enough whitening gel to see results by wearing your mouthpieces for a length of time that will allow you to complete the whitening process or you will need to reorder. Most systems package the gel inside several syringes containing only 1.2 to 3 ml (cc) each. Be aware that most systems create the need for you to purchase multiple kits and/or refill gel in order to get enough whitening gel to see the results you desire. Make sure that you receive enough whitening gel to get the results you are after. MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE - Make sure that the dental whitening system you purchase comes with a money-back guarantee. You should be able to see significant results within 30 days from the start of your treatment. This is an easy way to tell if the company you purchase your whitening system from has confidence in its system.
The only other consideration to be given to the formulation of dental bleaching systems is the addition of other active ingredients to the whitening gel. Other products may add flavorings or desensitizers to reduce discomfort of your mouth, gums or teeth during the bleaching process. We elected not to add desensitizers to our formula for very simple reasons. First, VHL whitening gel does not contain a glycerin base. Glycerin causes unnecessary sensitivities on the gum and mouth tissues. Since our formula emphasizes consumer safety, it uses a non-glycerin base, thus eliminates the need for desensitizing agents in the formula to compensate for a glycerin base. Second, sensitivity is your body’s way of telling you to reduce the exposure time to the bleaching agent. If you inhibit this natural warning buzzer, you may unknowingly increase your sensitivity reaction. Also, be aware if fluoride is contained in the whitening gel formula. It is against FDA regulations to formulate a whitening gel with fluoride since the FDA has not approved bleaching formulas containing fluoride.
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