How to whiten teeth at home without harm to enamel

Next you will learn:

• How can teeth be whitened at home without serious harm to enamel;
• How enamel clarification is fundamentally different from bleaching;
• What methods of home whitening and teeth whitening are the most effective, and what kind of damage is enamel caused;
• Somewhat frankly harmful, as well as completely safe folk teeth whitening methods;
• You will also learn how to compensate for the harmful effects of whitening products on tooth enamel, if you decide to use them.

Thanks to the rapid development of dentistry, a lot of methods and means have appeared today for effective and relatively safe whitening of tooth enamel. At the same time, all such ways to make a whiter smile can be divided into professional and home ones.

Professional or, alternatively, office (at the dentist's) teeth whitening is usually a rather expensive and effective procedure, although it is usually not possible to carry out it completely without harm to the enamel. Considering that people, generally speaking, do not really like going to the dentist, a reasonable question arises: is it possible to whiten teeth somehow at home and without harm to enamel?

And here the most various methods and means for home teeth whitening come to the fore: these are all kinds of whitening pencils, strips and mouth guards based on hydrogen peroxide, as well as special whitening toothpastes, conditioners and some specific folk remedies to make a smile whiter. Interestingly, some methods of teeth whitening at home not bad combine the specific features of cabinet teeth whitening with ease of use - and this is not just grandmother's recipes, but a simplified version of the use of modern dental technologies.

But, of course, far from all methods of home brightening and teeth whitening can be carried out without harm to enamel. Which of them are most effective, and which are almost useless, which are relatively safe, and which are definitely not worth using - we will talk about all this in more detail later.

But first, let's clarify an important nuance regarding the fundamental difference between lightening and whitening tooth enamel ...

 

The difference between enamel brightening and whitening

Before you begin to choose the appropriate tool for whitening your teeth, it is important to understand the difference between whitening and lightening enamel.

During bleaching, a chemical effect on the deep structures of the enamel occurs with the destruction of the coloring pigments accumulated over a long time. The reasons for this staining can be bad and established habits (smoking, chewing tobacco, regular consumption of wine during meals, excessive passion for coffee, strong tea, etc.).

The whitening procedure involves exposure to tooth enamel with very aggressive chemicals: for example, phosphoric acid and hydrogen peroxide in high concentrations can not only dissolve organic pigments inside the surface layer of enamel, but also seriously damage its mineral structure as a whole, which leads to unpleasant side effects.

Unlike bleaching, enamel brightening is an improvement in its color characteristics only from the surface. This happens due to the cleansing of the surface of the teeth from soft and hard (less often) plaque, which can give the teeth any shade of brown, even black.

On a note

If tooth enamel naturally has a dark shade or yellow, then it is obvious that lightening will not help give Hollywood whiteness to a smile, and there is no point in hoping, for example, to use abrasive whitening pastes. In such cases, even chemical whitening does not always give a pronounced effect, but it is quite capable of causing harm, especially with unhealthy cravings, at all costs to whiten nature's yellow enamel.

 

Homemade enlightenment brightening methods: choose the best

Perhaps you should immediately warn against the use of harsh old methods of lightening tooth enamel - such as rubbing your teeth with clay, ash and charcoal. In most cases, such experiments will bring nothing but harm.

Note the modern methods of homemade enamel brightening:

1. Whitening toothpastes;
2. Whitening brushes (yes, there are some);
3. Whitening mouthwash.

The most popular and widely advertised method of “whitening” (or rather, lightening) teeth at home is the use of whitening toothpastes.

There are many fans of this method of lightening tooth enamel, and the logic here is simple. A large number of people regularly drink strong tea, coffee, wine and other plaque-staining products, and also smoke. As a result, over time, a colored (pigmented) plaque appears on the surface of the teeth, and the person has natural thoughts to somehow remove it in order to return his whiteness to his smile.

It is for this that bleaching toothpastes are intended, the effect of which is most often based on the abrasion of pigmented plaque from the enamel surface. The more abrasive the paste, the more efficient it will be to erase the coating, often - together with enamel.

It is interesting

Each toothpaste has its own abrasion index - the so-called controlled abrasivity index RDA. The higher its value, the “tougher” the paste erases plaque. For example, for sensitive teeth, it is recommended to use pastes with an abrasiveness not higher than 25 RDA, children's pastes - from 25 to 50 RDA, for daily use - usually about 75 RDA. Whitening toothpastes can have abrasiveness at the level of 150-200 RDA.

If you have sensitive teeth and weak enamel (erosion, wedge-shaped defects), then it’s better not to even try to use highly abrasive whitening toothpastes - so problems with painful tooth sensitivity will only be aggravated many times. Fortunately, among bleaching pastes there are those that are characterized by medium and low abrasiveness.

The use of whitening toothpaste, generally speaking, is recommended only after consulting a specialist. But it has already happened that few people go to the dentist before using such a paste, so just take note of a couple of tips that will help you not to harm your teeth too much in pursuit of snow-white enamel:

• Do not use abrasive whitening pastes too often, they are not intended for daily use. It often happens that a person simply buys a tube of paste, which he attracted with a promise to return his teeth to whiteness, and uses it twice a day until it is over. So, at the same time, you can "earn" yourself the so-called non-carious defects in the cervical region of the tooth in the form of erosion and wedge-shaped defects, as well as increased long-term sensitivity of the teeth from various irritants (cold, hot, sour, etc.);
• If during the application of the whitening toothpaste the enamel began to react painfully to irritants - do not torture yourself, and switch to regular paste. This is not the case when beauty requires sacrifice;
• Do not give whitening paste to children - you don’t want your child to wash his enamel on milk teeth with a paste with 200 RDA? ..

Now a few words about whitening toothbrushes.

Not everyone knows that there are toothbrushes with the so-called "whitening effect." There are, for example, the following varieties of bristles of such brushes:

• The bristles have a special rubber coating;
• Contain activated carbon;
• Contain crystals of calcium carbonate.

The photo below shows an example of a whitening toothbrush R.O.C.S. with calcium carbonate crystals:

Each of these brushes has certain individual characteristics, but the task for everyone is about the same: to eliminate plaque from the enamel surface as efficiently as possible without causing significant harm to it. In other words, manufacturers offer quick cleansing of enamel from dark plaque due to the light “scratching” effect of the bristles (for activated carbon brushes, the elimination of an unpleasant odor due to the absorbing properties of coal is also claimed, but this is largely just a marketing move).

A positive feature of whitening toothbrushes is that in a short time at home you can clean the enamel of soft and hard coating, which gives the teeth a yellow (dark) shade.

Minuses:

• With prolonged use (especially with some whitening pastes), enamel can be harmed by abrasion with increased sensitivity;
• Studies by independent experts have shown that most of the whitening toothbrushes on the hygiene products market today do not have significant advantages over conventional toothbrushes with the same degree of bristle hardness. And the appearance of positive results and reviews is often due to the fact that the so-called “special” toothbrush, a person begins to brush his teeth more consciously and thoroughly, controlling the result.

Feedback:

“By my nature, I love all kinds of experiments and various new little things-dryuchki. For example, a couple of weeks ago I bought myself a ROCS whitening toothbrush, whitening with crystals of calcium carbonate. The company strikes that the brush has a special polymer coating of the bristles with CaCO3 crystals included. Once again, I was convinced that happiness was not in the brush, but in the ability to properly and thoroughly brush my teeth, and still correctly select toothpaste. What with the new brush, what with the old - there is no difference at all. In general, girls, choose a good whitening paste and any normal brush, then the teeth will be in order. "

Marina, St. Petersburg

It is worth mentioning the so-called whitening mouthwashes. At the same time, the following questions are quite reasonable:

• Can a mouthwash be a tooth whitener?
• If so, in what time does this whitening take place?
• If bleaching does occur, is enamel bleached in depth and is there any harm to it?

So, the principle of operation of most whitening rinses is based on two main effects:

1. Removal (including dissolution) of plaque from the enamel surface due to surfactants and enzymes. For example, papain and bromelain, which can break down the protein base of plaque, can be used as enzymes;
2. As well as the actual whitening effect due to peroxide compounds that release active oxygen during chemical reactions (for example, sodium perborate may be included in the rinse aid).

It should be noted that without the use of high-quality toothpaste and a brush, the use of rinsing agents, even whitening, will affect the whiteness of a smile in the most minimal way, or will not give an effect at all. A very low concentration of sodium perborate generally resembles a marketing ploy: it seems like we can talk about active oxygen and chemical bleaching of enamel to a certain depth, although in practice at such a low concentration of peroxides and at such a relatively high pH, ​​there is practically no whitening effect.

So you should not expect quick whitening from the rinse aid, and the main effect will be provided by a whitening toothpaste.

But the rinse agent due to mineralizing components can reduce the damage caused by enamel with abrasives that make up the paste. In other words: they wanted to whiten their teeth, but in the end it turned out to strengthen the enamel, having an anti-caries effect, as well as refreshing the breath.

Feedback

“I recently bought a Global White Perborate Whitening Rinse. The first association that arose in the head is like in the wash: active oxygen whitens not only the laundry, but also the tooth enamel. Laughter, laughter, but for three weeks I used this tool. Of the good, what I can say about is a refreshing effect that lasts about 2-3 hours. Colleagues even noticed a pleasant breath, but teeth whitening in three weeks was not even outlined ... "

Svetlana, Moscow

 

Chemical whitening of tooth enamel at home

Among the currently used chemical bleaching home remedies, the first places in popularity are:

• Bleaching strips;
• Whitening pencils;
• Standard bleaching mouthpieces (grooves).

Let's start with the stripes and see if they can be used to whiten teeth at home without harm to the enamel. In general, these bleaching agents are strips of polyethylene with a special gel containing hydrogen peroxide and excipients.

The idea is that hydrogen peroxide in contact with tooth enamel is activated with the release of active oxygen - a strong oxidizing agent. In the process of its penetration deep into the enamel, the destruction of organic pigments occurs, which, in fact, give the enamel a dark color. This is how everything looks ideal.

Of course, such a home-made chemical tooth whitening is not without damage to the mineral structure of enamel. The severity of the negative effect of the whitening strips is proportional to the concentration of active ingredients, the exposure time of the strips on the teeth and the frequency of their repeated use. For many people, the painful sensitivity of the enamel appears after a single use of the strips, but they persistently endure and carry out the procedure many times, causing tooth enamel more and more harm.

To achieve a real whitening effect on several tones with the help of whitening strips at home is really possible in many cases. The question is different - at what cost? .. If used improperly, there is a risk of not only causing significant damage to the enamel due to its demineralization, but also getting chemical burns to the gums.

Example

A person incorrectly pasted a whitening strip, he suffers a burning sensation for a long time, believing that this is normal and should be so. Then he removes the strip, and with it leaves a piece of gum necrotized with hydrogen peroxide with a continuous flap. There are such cases.

However, if you correctly use certified whitening strips, following the instructions, and at the same time use mineralizing enamel products (pastes with fluorine, calcium glycerophosphate, calcium citrate), you can get a whitening effect without excessive harm to the teeth.

Feedback

“For a long time I wanted to have the same white teeth as my girlfriend’s, so I decided to order whitening strips from China for group purchases for testing. On the very first day, out of the required 20 minutes, I was able to hold out only 7, since such excessive salivation began that I began to swallow constantly. As soon as nausea came, I stopped this business. My teeth were a little broken, but quickly passed.

On the second day, I mastered 15 minutes and saw a strange effect: white stripes on the teeth, where the strip was more in contact with enamel. True, in a couple of hours everything was equal. About 6-7 days I still hung up, but then for personal reasons I was forced to temporarily stop whitening.A month later, I resumed the course, and after 5 days a terrible thing happened: my teeth began to ache almost from everything, my gums became inflamed, and my mouth itched, as if the wasps had bitten. I wasn’t something I couldn’t eat cold or hot, even inhaling the air was really painful.

A friend told me that I foolishly destroyed my enamel, advised the gel to restore it. It helped a little, but I plan to run to the dentist the other day for clarifications ... "

Daria, Kirov

Whitening pencils. The principle of their operation is similar to the action of whitening strips, the difference lies only in the method of application. A pencil is, in fact, a small tube with a special gel and a brush with which this gel is applied to the teeth in the smile zone. Then you need to smile for some time and wait until the chemical reaction proceeds.

Whitening pencils can actually give the effect of chemical whitening after prolonged use, however, even certified and approved products can cause the same side effects as strips. You should especially beware of fakes from China, which at best do not contain the required concentrations of peroxide, and at worst contain dubious components that cause additional harm to enamel.

It is worth mentioning the standard whitening burls or grooves, which are also quite popular today for home teeth whitening. They are sold with a set of gels in syringes, sometimes with an additional activator - ultraviolet LEDs (ultraviolet is used by analogy with cabinet photo-whitening of teeth to increase the effectiveness of the procedure).

Whitening mouthguards are perhaps the most dubious means of safety for enamel and oral mucosa. The fact is that even legal whitening mouthguards cannot boast of safe use, since each person has strictly individual characteristics of the occlusion, location and shape of the teeth. Therefore, there is always a high risk that the gel from the mouth guard can spread over the mucous membranes, causing serious burns.

Chinese fakes most often have only a minimal whitening effect due to the lack of required concentrations of whitening components. Illumination of the gel with violet LEDs creates a more psychological effect than actually activates the gel components.

 

What can happen with enamel when trying to whiten your teeth yourself

There are many methods and tools used to whiten teeth at home, but the use of most of them is not without damage to the enamel.

Depending on the applied independent methods of whitening, the nature of the disorders and their severity may be different. Let's consider two options:

• Bleaching with peroxide compounds (gels, pencils, strips and mouthguards with formulations based on hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, sodium perborate, etc.);
• Whitening associated with the use of abrasive compounds (whitening pastes, charcoal, white clay, ash, chalk, tooth powder, etc.)

Scientists who conducted a study on the effect of hydrogen peroxide on the structure of enamel, came to the conclusion that even 10-16% of the concentration can lead to significant negative changes in its structure, up to a strong decrease in its hardness. This is especially true for whitening gels having a low pH.

A decrease in enamel hardness occurs due to the rapid decrease in its mineral components - primarily calcium and phosphorus. This means that enamel wear resistance and fracture strength are reduced, and enamel becomes porous. Her natural protective functions are sharply reduced, she becomes more caries susceptible.

In addition, freshly bleached enamel due to its increased porosity is more susceptible to re-staining with coloring food.Therefore, after the procedure of both cabinet and home teeth whitening, it is recommended to adhere to the so-called “white” diet - do not drink coffee, tea, red wine, etc. for some time.

On a note

In addition to the harmful effects on tooth enamel, the chemical components in the whitening strips, pencils and mouth guards can also have a certain effect on the dentin and tooth pulp, especially in the presence of old fillings. If such a composition flows under the seal, and a person, despite the severe pain, suffers, then it is quite possible that the pulp will be affected, followed by the development of pulpitis.

Enamel is also harmed by the use of abrasive products.

In the process of teeth whitening with highly abrasive whitening pastes or toothbrushes with hard or modified bristles, enamel is mechanically abraded along with plaque. In other words, with prolonged uncontrolled use of abrasive products, especially with a violation of the technique of proper brushing, there is a pathological decrease in enamel.

On a note

Normally, a natural decrease in enamel occurs every day in a person, but this process is largely compensated by the return of mineral components from saliva back to the enamel structure (therefore, saliva is even called “liquid enamel”).

With pathological abrasion of enamel due to whitening toothpastes and toothbrushes, a surface violation of the structure can be seen literally in a matter of months. However, much faster such a negative effect of abrasive compounds on the teeth can be felt, as this creates a hypersensitivity of the teeth and a feeling of "boredom".

 

Simple ways to “whiten" your teeth for several hours without harm to enamel

If it is not possible (or there is no time) to whiten the teeth either at the dentist or at home, and it takes several hours to create the effect of white teeth, then using only lipstick and gloss you can create a Hollywood smile without harm to enamel, like Marlene Dietrich or Marilyn Monroe.

The fact is that bright red lipstick against a bright face makes the teeth noticeably whiter due to the contrast. Berry colors (raspberry, grape, cherry) look excellent if they are well suited to many types of face and skin.

If you want to make the whiteness of your teeth more effective, then lipstick with a plumper effect can be used. Plumpers are lipsticks and glosses that allow you to enlarge your lips for a short time without injections, but their other side effect is a visual improvement in the perception of tooth color.

However, there are also lipsticks that not only do not improve the color characteristics of the teeth, but if desired, can even spoil the native snow-white smile. Such lipstick pests are few, but they are. These are all shades of yellowish tones, as well as:

• Carrot orange;
• Crimson
• Violet and Lilac;
• Brown;
• Coral;
• Pink.

 

Harmful and safe for enamel folk ways to brighten teeth

Let's start with the most dangerous folk methods of teeth whitening, which can cause enamel significant harm, especially with unreasonable use:

• Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). It would seem, and what is so dangerous in it? However, soda is a strong abrasive that literally scratches tooth enamel, resulting in microdamages and sometimes even cracks. If there is a desire to harm the enamel, then it is enough to apply soda powder on the toothbrush and, in the usual way, carry out long-term brushing of the teeth twice a day for a month. As a result, the teeth will become bright, but noticeably damaged.
• White clay is much more abrasive than soda. Used as part of some whitening toothpastes from Thailand. So you need to use such pastes very, very carefully.
• Activated carbon (or just charcoal).In the old days, this was a good way to cleanse teeth from plaque and even bring down a supragingival tartar a little, but at that time they ate mostly rough food and did not know what quality cooked foods were. Thanks to heat treatment and an abundance of “soft” products, modern society has a characteristic weakly mineralized and not very durable enamel. Therefore, brushing your teeth with charcoal can scratch the enamel and lead straight to the dentist's chair. However, properly prepared (finely dispersed) charcoal is quite suitable for use and even is part of some toothpastes (an example of toothpaste with charcoal is Splat Blackwood).
• Hydrogen peroxide in the form of rinses. This method still causes bewilderment among practicing dentists: how has the tool for professional use penetrated folk medicine so freely? 3% hydrogen peroxide can cause severe mucosal burns and allergies. This is one of the strongest oxidizing agents, therefore it is simply dangerous for health to put it in your mouth and rinse until foam appears, as some especially "advanced craftsmen" sometimes try to do.

Relatively safe folk methods for whitening teeth without damaging enamel:

• Eating apples. This method does not have strong whitening properties, but it is quite capable of slightly brightening a smile, especially with abundant plaque and stone. Organic acids, which are part of apple juice, are very effective complexing agents, and are able to “pull” calcium ions from the tartar matrix and the structure of hard and soft plaque, contributing to its desorption from the enamel surface.
• Baking soda, slaked with lemon juice with the addition of a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide (Neumyvakin method of teeth whitening). The interaction of citric acid and soda forms sodium citrate, which is able to flush calcium from tartar. But the whitening effect of hydrogen peroxide will be negligible due to its low concentration, however, with this approach, there will be no harm from it either.

It's important to know

But what you should not do categorically is to rub your teeth with soda after you have eaten the lemon beforehand. With prolonged use of this method of teeth whitening, this will lead not only to increased sensitivity of enamel, but also to its erosion.

 

Absolutely safe tooth whitening for enamel: myth or reality?

Upon closer examination, it turns out that effective and absolutely safe tooth enamel does not exist.

Well, perhaps an absolutely safe way to visually brighten teeth is available to women. An experiment with lipstick with the appropriate type of face and skin color almost always ends with success: the teeth for those around you become really whiter. And this is without any conscious harm to tooth enamel.

However, there are methods of controlled home whitening of teeth that are quite gentle with respect to enamel. Many experts believe that the least risk of a serious violation of the structure of enamel and the development of inflammatory processes of the gums is achieved with home-based teeth whitening using drops made in the dentist’s office by cast.

In this case, the dentist issues a set of special gels with detailed instructions for home whitening. Therefore, the gel applied on such an individual mouthpiece is located on the teeth and exactly the time that is prescribed for a particular person.

With controlled home teeth whitening, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the gel is significantly lower than in professional whitening systems. However, more procedures are required. The effect of this type of whitening may not come immediately: after 5-7 days of use, but it is as persistent as after cabinet whitening, and the procedure itself is safer for enamel.

 

Whatever method of teeth whitening you choose at home, there is an important nuance that you should not forget: if you already apply some damage to enamel with peroxide or abrasive pastes, it is highly advisable to somehow compensate for this damage. Than? Mineralizing gels and pastes - that is, a whitening course is desirable to combine with the use of such funds.

An example is ROCS Medical Minerals, Recaldent GS Tooth Mousse remineralizing gels, etc. In extreme cases, a low abrasive toothpaste with sodium fluoride, aminofluoride, calcium glycerophosphate, calcium citrate, calcium lactate, finely divided hydroxyapatite and other mineralizing components is suitable.

Choose only proven and safe methods of teeth whitening and do not forget to visit your dentist for a consultation if you are not sure about your actions.

Be healthy!

 

Interesting video: 5 ways to whiten your teeth at home

 

On modern approaches to teeth whitening at the dentist