Is Premium Home Whitening Effective?
I keep seeing advertisements for Premium Home Whitening. I don’t know if you are familiar with this product, but can you tell me if it is as effective as the teeth whitening that my dentist does? It’s a little cheaper than what he offers and money is tight for me right now. I’m just trying to find a way to have a pretty smile in the budget that I have available to me.
Melissa
Dear Melissa,
The one thing that this product does have going for it is that it is using a valid tooth whitening ingredient. Will it be as effective as what your dentist offers? No. Even if it did have the same whitening strength as what your dentist provided, The whitening trays will destroy any hope of getting the full efficacy out of it. Here’s why.
The bleaching trays that your dentist provide for you are custom fit, like the ones pictured above. A mold is taken of your bite and the trays are made to fit your teeth perfectly. This serves two important purposes. The first is that it will keep the gel on your teeth, while keeping saliva from getting in. If saliva can get inside the whitening trays, then it will dilute the gel.
Additionally, if your saliva can get in then that means the gel can also get out. When that happens, you are losing gel and again lowering the efficacy. This means you will need several kits for every one tube of gel that your dentist provides for you. That won’t exactly save you much money. On top of that, you put your gums at risk of irritation because they are no longer protected from the gel.
If you want to whiten your teeth safely and effectively, I would do it through your dentist. If cost is the only thing stopping you, then I would simply talk to your dentist about your budgetary restraints. He or she may be willing to work with your on payment options.
This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.
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Can I Get Dental Implants with a Metal Allergy?
I have two removable partial dentures. I am not loving them. I’d like to get some dental implants to replace them, however I do have some pretty annoying metal allergies. I can’t wear any metal buttons or snaps and I could not even wear a traditional wedding ring. Is there any non-metal type of dental implants I can use?
Barry
Dear Barry,
I am glad you wrote. I think you will feel much happier with dental implants than you have been with your removable partial dentures. Dental implants are secure and don’t move around the way that your dentures do. You’ll find it much easier to eat. As for your metal allergy, dental implants are made from titanium. This particular metal is very biocompatible and has been used for decades with great success in several prosthetics, including hips. A titanium allergy is extraordinarily rare. I would never say impossible because every human body is extraordinarily unique.
You have a few options. The first is to just get a titanium dental implant going by the fact that an allergy to it is highly unlikely. The second is to get an allergy test to see if you are allergic. A third option is to get a zirconia dental implant.
Zirconia implants are metal free, which would take all fear of your metal allergy acting up. The main reason that most dentists prefer the titanium implants is that they have been around much longer. As a result, there is a much larger body of evidence as to their longevity. There is nothing to say that the zirconia implants would not last as long. We simply don’t have enough data yet.
Whichever you choose, you will be much happier with an implant.
This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.
Click here to learn more about teeth whitening.