Will whitening my teeth damage the enamel?

Question

I hate my teeth and I don't like to smile alot. I brush them with whiteinting toothpaste 3 times a day so they can get whiter. But it's not working. I want to have a whiter and brighter smile.

Answer 1

Whitening toothpastes do a poor job of whitening but some are abrasive and wear down your enamel.
You would be better off buying a tray and whitening gel kit and using it according to the instructions. If you bleach with the tray and gel in accordance with the instructions, your enamel will not be harmed by it. However, I have anecdotal evidence of a woman who bleached excessively and did thin her enamel.
PlusWhite and Rembrandt have good kits, usually less than $20. I got fastest results with the kit that uses the blue light. I got that at Linens n Things for $20.
I advise that you also buy a fluoride rinse, like ACT. You can get a store brand rinse at Target and at Wal-mart. Apply fluoride after each treatment. This will reduce the sensitivity which comes from bleaching.
If you get mouth sores, bleach less often. This is a result of the bleach irritating the soft tissue faster that the tissue can heal.

I've tried whitening strips, and they really didn't cling well for me. So I went back to tray treatments.
My husband simply won't get around to using a tray. He had good results by adding bleaching gel on top of his toothpaste every time he brushed. Results took longer, but in about a month there was noticible improvement. You can get a tube of PlusWhite for about $5 (without the tray kit).

Answer 2

First of all, professioanl bleaching DOES damage the enamel. Whitening toothpaste is not all that effective, and guess what, it contains bleach too. A non bleach formula that may be good for you is the Colgate Professional Weekly Clean, which contains propyl-silica instead of bleach. Propyl-silica is the stuff dentists and hygenists use to clean teeth so it's good stuff. A tube of Colgate Professional Weekly Clean lasts 6 applications and you do it once a week.