Toothpaste or Whitening Strips?

Have you ever thought that you needed white teeth to take a picture, go to parties, or even go to the beach? Yeah, I even had those thoughts as well. You may want to think about how you want to get your teeth whitened. Instead of wanting to go to the dentist, just head to the drugstore and get your whitening products there!

The main thing to get your teeth white is to use teeth whitening strips. They sure do work! Hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient in all of the whitening teeth products. Hydrogen peroxide interacts with your stains on your teeth releasing oxygen providing a white healthy look on your teeth. Hydrogen peroxide is like bleach for your teeth. When using tooth paste, it gives you a lot less whitening affect on your teeth because the ingredients aren’t as strong as the hydrogen peroxide in the whitening strips. The tooth paste doesn’t expose as much on your teeth as whitening strips do.

The question is that are whitening strips safe to use? In some ways they are safe but in the long run there might be a mishap where you use the strips way too much or you may swallow too much ingredients from the strips. But, for the most part they are safe to use. There are safe at home kits to use at home also. The one big thing is that you could get nerve damage or loss of enamel. Some toothpastes can also cause the loss of enamel on your teeth. Toothpastes don’t brighten your teeth as well as whitening strips do, but they can make your teeth a shade or two lighter. Toothpastes just usually remove the surface stains while the whitening strips can go beyond the surface stains.

There is a couple of side affects from using teeth whitening strips. The two most common side affects that people get when using the strips are tooth sensitivity and gum irritation. Almost ½ of the people that use teeth whitening strips have some sort of tooth sensitivity. The pain that everyone feels is mostly like all the same. Everyone who has tooth sensitivity is sensitive to hot or cold substances. Again, almost ½ of the people that use the strips do have gum irritation also. The gum irritation is caused by the peroxide in the whitening strip. The whitening strips also can cause irritation to your fingers, or where the peroxide touched your body.

The teeth whitening strips are mainly just plastic strips you put on your teeth. The strips may be fun to use but they also have bleaching agents in them. It is your decision to use the whitening strips or not. I recommend using the strips if you want a great smile. All you have to do is be cautious in what kind of whitening strips you use and how long you will use them for. All in all, whether using whitening strips or toothpaste, read the product labels according to the directions for a beautiful white smile!

What is your opinion on which item to use, toothpaste or whitening strips?

Do you think whitening strips are harmful?

Would you use toothpaste if they added more bleaching agents to be strong like whitening strips?

6 thoughts on “Toothpaste or Whitening Strips?

  1. I learned that whitening strips can be safe and effective if they are used correctly. If they are used incorrectly they can cause sore gums and erosion of the enamel. From further research I learned that once you reach the color that you want for your teeth, you only have to whiten one to two times a year to maintain the color. The over-the-counter whiteners tend to be 10%-20% peroxides and you would typically want to stay in the middle of the two numbers unless you know you have sensitive teeth or gums. I used http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/healthy-teeth-14/teeth-whitening-safety?page=1 to find more information on whitening strips.

  2. Learning the ingredients that whiten teeth is interesting. In whitening toothpaste some other ingredients are also carbamide peroxide, Abrasives, and detergents. Also you can find enzymes such as papain, triclosan, citric acid,and sodium tripolyphosphate. Its also important to realize the ingredients varies from the brand and type of toothpaste. There has been many studies to see if whitening toothpaste does work. The results have went both ways. One experiment I found interesting was comparing Colgate toothpaste and Crest white strips. The white strips showed a significant difference in tooth color compared to the toothpaste. So, I think that both whitening toothpaste and white strips both help. http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/Web2007/WhiteningToothpaste.htm

  3. I learned that whitening kits can cause nerve damage and enamel damage when you use it more than 3 times a year. They also can be safe too. The key thing is to make sure you don’t over do it. You also want to make sure that you don’t apply is on your gums or any sensitive parts. A better thing to use would be whitening toothpaste. After doing some research, I would chose just normal toothpaste because there isn’t damage that can be done to you. If I ever needed help whitening my teeth, I would ask my dentist. Here is the link that I used. http://www.self.com/flash/beauty-blog/2011/12/is-teeth-whitening-safe/

  4. I learned that Hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient in all of the whitening teeth products and it is like bleach for you teeth. There are two main affects if you use whiting strips like sensitivity and gum irritation. I would use toothpaste because it doesn’t have all the bad side affects. No, I don’t think whiting strips are harmful unless you use a lot. No, I don’t think I would use the tooth paste if it had a lot if bleaching agents. Here is a link for more information on whiting teeth http://www.aacd.com/whitening.

  5. Feeling insecure about your teeth can be stressful.Teeth whitening done correctly is safe for your teeth. enamel can be stripped from your teeth from excessive whitening but if the strips are used in moderation they should be safe. Whitening tooth pastes also work and are safe but they do not work as fast or last as long. My opinion is there is nothing wrong with using whitening products as long as you know when to stop and how to keep your teeth healthy.
    http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/teeth-whitening

  6. I learned that the whitening strips can erode your enamal. I would use both, but whitening stips because I like white looking teeth! I do think the strips could potentially be harmful, but only if you ingest a lot of the ingrediants from the bubbles foaming in the teeth. I would definately use the toothpaste if there were more bleaching ingredients. At this link I found more about whitening strips side effects. http://www.animated-teeth.com/whitening_strips/a4_teeth_whitening.htm

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