Are you the Sensitivity Type? Avoiding Tooth Whitening Sensitivity

Emotional sensitivity can be a very sweet thing. Dental sensitivity is nothing but a pain. Here are some facts and tips to help you keep whitening on your sweet side of your personality.

Your Dentist Chooses Well
Chances are, you are not going to have sensitivity when whitening your teeth. Your doctor uses Life-Like 30% At-Home Fast Whitening with the least amount of wear time, the fastest result, and lowest rate of sensitivity.

Low Occurrence
30% was tested on 1,400 patients, resulting in a mere 5% rate of pulpal sensitivity. That is astonishing considering that the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) reports that around 50% of the people who use a home whitening treatment experience temporary tooth sensitivity. Life-Like fast whitening patients have less than 5% pulpal sensitivity.

Avoid Dehydration
The low sensitivity of 30% Fast Whitening is due to the short wear time that avoids the dehydrating effects of the treatment. Keeping those treatments under 30 minutes and then letting the teeth naturally rehydrate with your own natural saliva is the key.

Sensitivity Toothpaste
If you have a history of tooth sensitivity you may want to go the extra step and use a sensitivity toothpaste before and during your tooth whitening treatments. You should begin using the sensitivity toothpaste two weeks before you start, and continue during the duration the whitening process. The reason for this - is that it takes that long for the potassium nitrate in the toothpaste to do its job. Some tooth whitening products put the potassium nitrate in the whitening gel - which sounds like a good idea, but it doesn’t work that fast - or that way. The combination ofplanning ahead (using sensitivity toothpaste) and short wear time is your best bet.

That "learning tax" is the cost of a false start . . . when you first try something with which you’re not familiar. With all of the new consumer options available that claim to whiten teeth (at what appears to be such a low cost), it is easy to pay "learning tax" for tooth whitening. Here are some of the ver-the-counter products that might fit into this category:

Whitening Toothpaste - Some whitening toothpastes may provide some whitening maintenance, but you can’t count on them to provide "additional" whitening.

Drug Store Whitening Kits - Using a "boil-and-bite, one-size-fits-all" whitening tray, these packages use lower concentration whitening materials that don’t want to stay in the tray. It can take a very long time to whiten, promotes swallowing of the whitening gel, and tends to be a slobbery, messy turn-off. The scratchy throat isn’t worth it.

Internet Whiteners - "Same as offered by your dentist" . . . they claim. Thing is, they skip your dentist - who is the most important ingredient. These lower-concentration products are less effective and do not account for your dental history, dental goals, or practical realities like matching other dental work. Too many patients have whitened themselves into dental work they didn’t intend to create. Most are turned off by the messy, one-size-fits-all trays.

Strips - These flexible whitening strips do not require a custom stent. That’s the up side. The down side is that they use a lower concentration of active ingredient, can be difficult to handle, and can take an inordinate amount of time to achieve complete whitening. Not many people can stick with it when they take more than a month to whiten.

Whitening Centers - There is only so much whitening that can be done in an hour. Most of these centers use the combination of super-high-concentration hydrogen peroxide and a light source - a combination that can increase sensitivity, and is an actual risk for pulpal damage.

The way to avoid "learning tax" is to get the inside scoop - and when it comes to teeth, that means advice from your dentist. Your dentist is going to tell you about Life-Like At-Home 30% Fast Whitening and how it offers your best opportunity for whitening success – fastest with the least amount of sensitivity, wear time, and treatment days. Ask your dentist how in just 7 to 10 days, you can maximize your whitening investment.