Zoom Professional Teeth Whitening – Good and Bad

If you’re looking for professional teeth whitening, it’s likely that you’ve talked to a dentist or seen information on the new Zoom (the latest is “Zoom 2″) teeth whitening system.

The Zoom system is basically an in-office bleaching, but it is much faster and uses a whitening gel agent whose bleach is activated by a light.  The agent is much stronger than what you can buy off the shelf or even the normal tray whitening systems that are the usual teeth whitening setups used by people.  Because it’s stronger, the agent with Zoom often works faster and better.

The gel is applied directly to your teeth, avoiding your gums and sensitive spots.  A special frequency light is then shone on your teeth for a specific amount of time (just a few minutes), activating the gel and causing the bleaching action to begin.  This professional teeth whitening system often has fast results, with many teeth whitening clients having the Zoom treatment done over a lunch hour.

The treatment usually takes less than 45 minutes in total.

The biggest advantage to professional teeth whitening systems like Zoom is that it’s done in a dentist’s office where the application, use, and entire treatment can be controlled.  This means the right amount of bleach, the right length of treatment, and the right intervals can be used to maximize the teeth whitening regimen.

The down side, of course, is that it’s more expensive.  Because it’s faster, though, Zoom is often cheaper than the other professional teeth whitening alternatives and generally safer and nearly as effective as even the best of them.

This is important, since most dental plans don’t cover whitening and consider it cosmetic.  So what you pay matters to you.

Most Zoom patients who do normal at-home cleaning (brushing, flossing, etc.) only require Zoom treatments once a year or so to stay white and bright.

Natural Teeth Whitening Methods

All over the Internet, you’ll see ads proclaiming the “natural” and “safe’ and “cheap” remedies for whitening your teeth.  They’re everywhere and usually available “free” – after you buy a book or a quick guide or some other product, of course.

The truth is, some remedies actually work while others are extremely dangerous to good oral health.  Lemon juice, often touted as a teeth whitening method, is actually extremely detrimental to your teeth, leeching calcium from them and causing long-term harm.  Most fruit juices, especially citrics, in fact have this same property and should be avoided.

Natural whitening methods that do work are simpler than many would like to think.  One such natural teeth whitening method is the use of wood ash.  It’s not the tastiest or prettiest way to try to whiten your teeth and it’s definitely one of the less pleasant of the natural whitening methods.

The ash of hardwoods (yep, the leftovers from the fireplace) contain potassium hydroxide, one of the prime ingredients in over the counter and in-office dental soaks (tray teeth whitening) methods.  The natural method works, if you don’t do it too often (it could cause sensitivity), but it’s not exactly fun.  It’s ashes, after all.

Another method often mentioned for natural teeth whitening is strawberry juice.  This is not really adviseable for teeth whitening, though it does work.  The problem is that the sugars and acids from the strawberries can cause erosion of the enamel, which is definitely not good.  If used sparingly and thoroughly brushed and cleaned away with regular toothpaste, though, this natural whitening method can work.  It’s a lot of trouble, though, to save $10.

Finally, the often-touted and old faithful baking soda is mentioned as a natural whitening method.  In reality, baking soda does little for teeth whitening, but it does thoroughly clean teeth.  It’s abrasive, so using too much is a bad thing, but if you just wet your toothbrush and dip the end of the bristles into the baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda), it’ll do.  Most toothpastes contain some amount of baking soda, in fact.

Teeth Whitening Through Laser – Quick vs. Lasting

There are several laser tooth whitening systems in use in the dentists’ office.  Some are “pulse” lasers, some are broad spectrum, some are gel activators.  There are several methods and the one your dentist uses to do teeth whitening will depend on what’s available and what is to be done to whiten your teeth.

Fast laser treatments have been all the rage in teeth whitening, but new studies are showing that while it’s a faster treatment than in-clinic soaking (tray bleaching), it’s not necessarily better.  Or as good, even.

What’s being found is that the tooth whitening is not necessarily a bleaching, as previously though, but is actually a dehydration of the teeth from the intense light of the laser.  This dehydration leads to whitening, of course, but the laser tooth whitening can fade quickly as the teeth rehydrate after a few days.  Further questions of what it might be doing to affect enamel are also being raised.

Here’s why that is: bleach gel is usually applied to the teeth and then the laser is used to “burn off” the gel, theoretically forcing it into the teeth through heat.  In reality, most of the gel evaporates into the air, doing nothing to aid tooth whitening.  Some of it does, of course, get forced into the teeth as well.

The problem is that in most cases, that bleach is not enough and is not there long enough to do anything beyond a slim surface whitening.  The deeper coloration of the teeth (call the intrinsic coloration) is unchanged.  Further, the bleaching is so light it may not have any visual effect at all.

Most of the laser tooth whitening effect on many teeth appears to be the forcing of water from the teeth, dehydrating them.  This naturally lends a whiteness, but this new tooth whitening lasts only a few days while the teeth recover.

This is why the longer tray whitening methods seem to have a longer-lasting effect, though it is slower to appear.

Everything You Need to Know About Tray Whitening

Whether you go into the dentist or you purchase an over-the-counter version, the most common form of tooth whitening methods (except for toothpaste) is “tray whitening.”  This method involves trays formed to fit your teeth and some kind of whitening or bleach gel.

At the dentist, these trays may be formed specifically to fit your mouth while over the counter versions will be generically sized.

How well the tray fits will effect how well the whitening works, of course, but in general if the tray covers the teeth up to the gums, it’s likely to work well enough.

Obviously, the fitted ones at the dentist will do a better job and will also minimize sensitivity to the gums and gum line–a common issue amongst those who have whitening done or do it themselves.  Often, the take-home trays that the dentist might provide, which are form-fitted, can be re-used with over the counter whitening gels (which your dentist may even recommend) after being sanitized.

The common kits usually contain the tooth trays themselves, teeth whitening gel in either one dose or multiple dose tubes, and optionally a rinse agent, which is usually a sensitivity reducer.

Tooth trays have been around since the early 1900s and are not new.  They’ve evolved and become more sophisticated, of course, but are basically the same in concept as they were in their early days.  The formulas for whitening, while based on the same chemicals, have advanced considerably, however.

Teeth whitening is big business and the company with the best formula (and marketing to go with it) will stand to reap great rewards.  Tooth trays and tray whitening kits have almost always fronted the market in use for in-home whitening.

For the money, most agree that tray whitening is still the most effective way to conduct teeth whitening for most people.  The custom-fit trays you get from your dentist are proven to be the most effective tooth trays, so many consider them worth the little bit of extra effort and money.

Tray whitening methods are definitely here to stay and will likely never be replaced by fancy laser or light-sensitive methods used in-office.

Treating Teeth Whitening Sensitivity Issues

Most of us would like a brighter, whiter smile.  For many, however, teeth whitening comes at a price: tooth sensitivity.

Whether you get your teeth whitening done at the dentist or you use an at-home method, it’s common that you experience tooth sensitivity after treatments.  There are reasons that this happens and knowing them will show you how you can be treating sensitivity issues to make for a better, less painful teeth whitening experience.

The tooth sensitivity that comes with teeth whitening is caused by your personal genetics, the stability of the bleaching process used, and the acidic reaction of the chemicals involved.  Most of the sensitivity comes from the changes made to the teeth themselves during the bleaching process.

As the figure shows, your teeth have millions of microscopic dentinal tubules, which extend from the pulp (nerve) out to the surface of your teeth.  These tubes are filled with fluid and movement of that fluid is what causes sensitivity.  Normally, minerals contained in your saliva plug the tops of these tubes (as shown), but bleaching usually dissolves those plugs, opening the tubules.

This creates tooth sensitivity as the fluids inside them moves.  Most liquids like bleach solution gels cannot penetrate into the tubules.  However, when the fluid inside them escapes and leaves a void, this void is often very painful.  Most of the time, tooth sensitivity is merely the movement of fluid as some escapes before new plugs are formed.

Some people, genetically, are more predisposed to this tooth sensitivity than others: especially fair-haired people and those with larger, thicker teeth.

The plugs dissolving are not due to the bleach itself, but the acidity of the bleach instead.  Usually, higher-quality gels and treatments will not cause much tooth sensitivity as they are formulated to be as acidically neutral as possible.  Lower-cost gels and bleaches, however, do not go through the processes required for thsi and are usually slightly alkaline or acidic.  This is the main cause of tooth sensitivity.

Desensitizing agents are commonly used in treating sensitivity and are available in toothpastes, as after-appliques for whitening, or are in the whitening gels themselves.  Finally, newer desensitizers include oxalates and HEMA-based products for restoring the plugs.

Tooth sensitivity during and after teeth whitening is not a big issue if you understand how to be treating sensitivity issues before they become painful.