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Tanda Pearl Teeth Whitening System

I’ve been doing take home teeth whitening but it has been a bit painful on my jaw. I have been told I may have TMJ. This may be why my jaw hurts when I wear it. I recently received an advertisement for Tanda Pearl Teeth Whitening System. This says it can whiten your teeth in just 5 minutes a day. I’m thinking that this would help with my jaw pain. Is this a good option for me? Do you know if it is safe?

Joshua

Dear Joshua,

I am glad you wrote. I looked at the ingredients and there does not seem to be anything different with this than any other over-the-counter teeth whitening. It will whiten your teeth, but it is not going to work any faster than another product. The light does not do anything special. So, you’ll be working with the general principle that affects any teeth whitening system.

While the whitening ingredient does work, there are some things to consider, especially given your situation with your jaw. The big red flag to me is their whitening tray. This system uses a single tray for both your upper and lower teeth. You have to hold it in place by biting down on the tray. Even though, this claims to require less time, I believe it will cause you more jaw pain because you will have to bite down. So, if that is your reason for trying it I would look for something else.

When it comes to over-the-counter whitening, they all have a common failing in the fact that the tray is not custom fit to your bite. This creates a couple of problems. Both of these problems revolve around the fact that the whitening gel is not “trapped” on your teeth. With professional teeth whitening, the trays are made to fit your bite. This keeps the whitening gel where it is supposed to be. This whitens your teeth more effectively. Without having that protection, you are going to have saliva leaking into the trays. This weakens your whitening gel. You will have to whiten for more days or weeks to get the same level of whitening you could have achieved with undiluted gel. You are also going to end up purchasing more kits in order to get the same amount of whitening.

The second issue with this is that while your saliva is leaking in, your gel is leaking out. Not only does this weaken your gel even further, but it puts you at risk of irritation to your gums.

It sounded to me like you are already using professional teeth whitening, but are still experiencing pain. You mentioned that you have been told that you have TMJ Disorder. However, I didn’t hear that you were getting any treatment for that. This may be why you are having the pain. I would go to a dentist with post-doctoral training in TMJ Disorder and ask them to help you figure out the best treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.

Can a Long Dental Appointment Give You TMJ Disorder?

I had a rather long dental appointment. Four of my upper teeth were prepared for dental crowns and the rest were prepared for porcelain veneers. I’ve got my temporaries now. While I like the way they look, my jaw really hurts. The appointment was three days ago and I’m still needing to take pain relievers twice a day. My dentist is on vacation. I don’t know if I should just wait this out or if this is a sign that I’ve developed TMJ Disorder and need to find a dentist who is available. Any advice?

Molly

Dear Molly,

TMJ Disorder can be aggravated by a long dental procedure, but won’t develop because of one unless there was some trauma to your jaw. You did not mention anything unusual about the appointment. Four crowns along with porcelain veneer prep is a lot of work to have done at once. I’m not surprised that your jaw is hurting.

My suggestion is for you to take the following steps, some of which you are already doing.

Continue taking your anti-inflammatories.
Throughout your day, take notice as to whether or not you are clenching your jaw. Most people do not notice when they are doing it and clenching will not only prolong but even increase your jaw pain.
A cold compress will help reduce swelling, if there is any; a warm compress will relax strained muscles and increase blood flow. You can switch between them as needed.

If, after a week, you are still struggling that would be the time to call your dentist to determine if further evaluation is necessary. In all likelihood, you’ll feel better in a day or two. It’s never fun to hurt so I understand the desire for it to just go away.

This blog is brought to you by Agua Prieta Dentist Dr. Tostado.

Tanda Pearly Ionic Teeth Whitening

I want to whiten my teeth but am worried that it will aggravate the jaw pain I have been experiencing recently. I read about a system called Tanda Pearl Teeth Whitening which allows you to whiten your teeth in just five minutes a day. Do you know anything about this? Does it actually work? Do you think that will keep my jaw from hurting while whitening my teeth?

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

I am glad you wrote. The whitening ingredient itself is legitimate. It will whiten your teeth. That much is good. I do have a couple of concerns though. First, the supposed ionic light. It is nothing and is there, in my opinion, only for psychological reasons. To me, that says something negative about the company. Second, is the whitening trays they use.

If you were to get teeth whitening done by your dentist, they would make you custom-fitted teeth whitening trays. This will keep the whitening gel in the trays and your saliva out. The trays provided by this kit will do neither. Because they are DIY in their fit, that means you will end up having some of your saliva seep into your tray, which will weaken the whitening gel. Additionally, your whitening gel will leak out, which not only lessens the effectiveness of the gel even further, but also puts your gums at risk.

There is another issue with their whitening trays. The Tanda Pearl is a single tray that you have to bite down on and keep biting down on in order to keep it in. This will actually aggravate the jaw pain you mentioned. The trays your dentist will make for you are one for each arch. You can wear them comfortably while you go about your day or even while you sleep.

About that jaw pain you are experiencing. This could be a symptom of TMJ Disorder. I would visit with a dentist who has TMJ training in order to see if that is the root cause of your pain. If it is, there are treatments that can help you feel better.

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Tostado.