Although it's possible to bleach your teeth at home effectively, you should be aware of the common mistakes people make when bleaching their teeth. Here are a few examples of those mistakes.

Leaving the Whitener Too Long on Your Teeth

If you are whitening your teeth at home, then you should follow the directions for use of your chosen bleaching agent to the letter. For example, if you are told to leave the bleach on your teeth for half an hour, which is exactly what you should do. A common mistake people make is to leave the bleach on the teeth longer than the prescribed direction. This is a mistake because it exposes your teeth to a higher dosage of peroxide (the bleaching agent) than usual, and this may harm your teeth. For example, overexposing your teeth to bleaching peroxide may make them hypersensitive to various stimuli.

Whitening Teeth with Fillings

Dental fillings don't bleach; the bleaching agent is formulated for the tissues of your teeth and not for amalgam ceramic or metal in dental fillings. If you bleach your teeth despite the fillings in your mouth, you may end up with discolored teeth because some areas (those with natural teeth) will be whiter than areas with artificial materials.

Whitening Your Teeth Too Frequently

Repeating the whitening procedure too frequently may have the same effect on your teeth as bleaching them for too long. Again, many people make this mistake when they don't realize the pearly white teeth the first or second time they bleach them. The good news is that most of these bleaching products come with instructions on how often you should bleach your teeth; stick to the instructions, and you will be alright. If you don't get the desired results, consult a dentist to diagnose the problem and point the way forward.

Using Unapproved Whitening Products

Lastly, you are endangering your teeth if you are using unapproved whitening products to whiten them. Ideally, you should confirm that your whitening product is approved by the American Dental Association (ADA) before putting it on your teeth. You can also talk to your dentist for recommendations. Otherwise, you may end up using bleaching products with dangerous ingredients, bleaching products that don't work, or bleaching products with dangerous concentrations of peroxide.

Hopefully, you won't make any mistakes that may harm your dental health or interfere with the expected outcome of the bleaching. Note that you can avoid all these risks by following all the bleaching instructions on the products or as given by your dentist; alternatively, you can just get your teeth bleached at the dental office.

For more information, contact a dental office like Pacific Ave Dental/Allan L. Hablutzel, DDS.

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