Why Your Teeth Whitening Treatments Aren’t Working - SportingSmiles (2024)

You have tried whitening toothpaste, whitening strips, and even bleaching trays but you are still sporting those dingy, yellowish looking teeth. Are you doing it all wrong? Are your teeth just destined to be dingy? The truth is, not all teeth or stains respond to whitening. In addition, how you prepare and what whitening products you use can really make all the difference. Let’s look at some things that might keep your teeth whitening treatment from working.

Your Teeth Aren’t Clean

Whitening products work when the active agent (usually hydrogen or carbamide peroxide) enters the outer enamel and works to break apart stain molecules responsible for discoloration. If your teeth have biofilm or plaque buildup, this can prevent the bleaching agent from reaching the target stains.

Before considering any teeth whitening treatment, it is a good idea to schedule an appointment for a dental cleaning. These cleanings remove all signs of biofilm and plaque on the surface of your teeth. This leaves your teeth clean and prepared for tooth whitening.

You Have Too Many Dental Restorations

Dental restorations, such as crowns or veneers, DO NOT respond to tooth whitening products. If you have any of these restorations, especially in your front teeth, they will not whiten with bleaching products. They were placed to match your tooth color at the time. While whitening will not damage them and should still whiten natural teeth, the color of restorations will not change. This can leave your tooth color uneven. In order to change the color of restorations, you will need to have your dentist replace them to match your other teeth.

The Wrong Stains Will Prevent Teeth Whitening from Working

There are two different types of teeth stains: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic stains occur on or within the surface of the enamel. These stains are caused by what you eat or drink, as well as smoking. These are the stains targeted by whitening treatments.

Intrinsic stains occur within the inner portion of the tooth. They can occur from overuse of fluoride, certain medications, or dental injury. They can often cause a grayish appearance in the tooth. These stains do not respond to whitening treatments, no matter how hard you try.

Tooth Contact with the Whitening Agent is Not Optimal

In order to whiten your teeth, the whitening agent must have optimal contact with your teeth. With whitening strips, for example, you are often unable to achieve full tooth contact and will have areas where the agent does not come into contact with the tooth surface.

In addition, whitening products take time to work and must remain on your teeth from the recommended amount of time. If you suffer from tooth sensitivity, the pain may become too intense to leave the product in place for the time needed.

Whitening Trays - Single

Whitening Trays - Couples

The use of custom whitening trays helps to ensure your teeth have optimal contact with the teeth whitening agent.Visit SportingSmilestoday to order your high-quality, low cost, custom-fit whitening tray.

If you experience tooth sensitivity, using a sensitive toothpaste every day for two weeks before whitening can help reduce the painful sensitivity. To ensure full contact with your teeth by the whitening agent, bleaching gel administered using a custom-fit whitening tray offers the best option.

The Whitening Agent’s Concentration is NOT Strong Enough

When it comes to whitening your teeth, the concentration of the whitening agent makes all the difference. Whitening strips, for example, do not have a high enough concentration to penetrate deep into the enamel and are unable to whiten many deeper stains. Whitening gels contain higher concentrations, and many, like what we offer at SportingSmiles, are professional strength and are able to reach those deeper stains. Partner the higher concentration gel with a custom-fit whitening tray, and you will achieve much better results.

At SportingSmiles, we understand your goal of a bright white smile and we are here to help. By using our patented self-impression kit, you can make a mold of your teeth and our dental technicians will create a custom-fit tray. Using this custom-fit tray allows the gel to have the best contact with the surface of your teeth while also helping minimize exposure to your gums, which can cause discomfort. Our 35 percent carbamide peroxide whitening gel is professional-strength and designed to provide an optimal whitening experience. For more information, visitTeeth Whiteningtoday.