Having a beautiful white smile is a simple way to make you feel like a million bucks! Let’s face it that no matter how good your hair, clothes and shoes look, a dingy smile can ruin the outfit. Not so long ago getting a white smile meant spending a lot of money for a professional whitening treatment at the dentist or a whitening kit from the dentist to use at home. Luckily that has all changed. There are many ways to whiten your teeth at home today and the cost varies from less than $20 to $1000 or more.
While it may be tempting to select the least expensive method and hope for the best, there are many factors that should influence the method of home teeth whitening you choose. You must consider the health or condition of your teeth, what results you are looking to achieve and how much time you have along with the cost. Simply picking the lowest cost option will most likely not get you the results you are hoping for. It is also important to follow these key steps to make your home teeth whitening experience a success.
Health Evaluation First you need to evaluate – honestly – the health of your teeth. If you haven’t been to the dentist for a regular cleaning in the last 6 months, do this first!! One of the main causes of tooth discoloration is due to acids from the food and drink you eat everyday breaking down the enamel on your teeth, making them more susceptible to stains, yellowing and tooth decay. For any home teeth whitening method to work well, you need to start with clean, healthy teeth. Get a professional cleaning; make sure you care for any cavities or other problems BEFORE you start any whitening process.
Evaluate the Color If you can check the first item off your list because you have maintained good dental health, then the next step is to evaluate the color of your teeth. What about your teeth do you want to change with the home teeth whitening method that you choose? Determine the current shade of your teeth and decide how much whiter you want them to be.
Pick Your Product If your teeth are only mildly stained, you should evaluate some of the simple to use products like the Idol White Teeth Whitening Pen, or Crest Whitestrips. If you are dealing with a more yellow or dingy color, you should look into a tray method such as the Bella Labs Teeth Whitening kit. Remember that getting successful results depends on picking the product that is going to do what you need as an individual.
Prepare You can do this step while also doing the previous steps. While you are taking the steps above to decide what is the best home teeth whitening method for you, you should also step up your dental hygiene practices and make sure you are consistently brushing (for at least 2 minutes) at least twice a day, that you floss at least once per day and also use a teeth whitening mouthwash at least once a day. Making sure that your mouth is very clean before starting will improve the overall results, and it is very important that during the whitening process you maintain good dental practices so that the home teeth whitening process can work.
