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At Home Teeth Whitening Kits - Do-it-yourself Whitening

Containing peroxide, bleaching solutions actually bleach your tooth enamel. Peroxide whiteners can be found in a gel form which is placed in a mouth guard. Some products must be used twice a day for a couple weeks while others are used nightly for one to two weeks.

At-home whitening kits usually involve inserting a bleaching mixture onto a tray and placed inside the mouth for an hour or the entire night while sleeping. Your health care professional will suggest what type of application as well as the duration based on your needs.

At-home teeth whitening kits usually use 10 to 20 percent carbamide peroxide gels that contain glycerin, sodium hydroxide and water. Gels containing more than 10 percent carbamide peroxide also possess sodium fluoride in order to lessen sensitivity.

After taking impressions of your mouth, your dentist can then make a soft, custom mouth tray. At home, you can insert a layer of gel into the tray and wear it for a couple hours either awake or asleep. After one to two weeks, most people report whitening results. However, there have been cases where people have had to use these trays for a couple months. Kits range in cost from $300 to $500.

The American Dental Association claims that 96 percent of patients with stains caused by age, tobacco, tea and coffee experience lightening effects. However, those stains caused by too much fluoride are more prone to resist whitening solutions.

Friday, May 17, 2013