Teeth whitening can make you look significantly better right away. It makes a big difference and doesn’t cost as much as you think. Even high-end professional treatment doesn’t cost a fortune, and you can whiten your teeth at home with whitening trays for even less.
However, teeth whitening can have side effects. While dentists are trained to be very careful with their strong bleaching agents, the treatment can still go wrong. People who whiten their teeth at home can burn their gums if they aren’t careful.
To protect your gums during teeth whitening, you can try the following steps:
- Use a gum shield or protective barrier to cover your gums. These products protect your gums from the bleaching agents used in teeth-whitening products.
- Follow the instructions on the teeth whitening product packaging carefully. This will help to ensure that you are using the product correctly and minimize the risk of irritation or other side effects.
- Use toothpaste for sensitive teeth. These products contain ingredients that can help to reduce tooth sensitivity and protect the gums from irritation.
- Avoid using teeth whitening products that contain harsh or abrasive ingredients. These can irritate the gums and increase the risk of sensitivity.
- Brush and floss your teeth regularly to remove plaque and bacteria, which can irritate the gums.
- If you experience pain, sensitivity, or irritation in your gums during teeth whitening, stop using the product and consult a dental professional for further evaluation and treatment.
If you get any peroxide on your gums, you can get bleeding, inflammation, and pain. It might also affect your teeth too strongly. Some tooth sensitivity for a couple of days is normal, but you might end up with tooth pain that lasts much longer. Most side effects are minor, but some people get unusually bad side effects.
When you bleach your teeth at home, the bleaching chemicals you use are more diluted than what a dentist uses. This means that a small mistake might not hurt you, so don’t avoid the treatment for safety reasons.
However, the chemicals in at-home whitening kits can still inflame your gums or give you a slight chemical burn. Follow the instructions, and don’t bend the rules.
Put the bleaching tray in your mouth carefully and take it out carefully to avoid any whitening fluid spilling into your mouth. Since you can hurt your teeth and not just your gums, don’t leave the tray in your mouth for too long. Take any safety precautions your dentist recommends seriously.
How To Protect Gums During Teeth Whitening
It would be best if you talked to your dentist first. A custom-made whitening tray that is made for your teeth is the safest and the most effective. Get a custom tray from your dentist and ask a few questions about how to do the at-home treatment safely.
Fix problems with your teeth before you get your teeth whitened. Putting bleaching fluid on your teeth while they have untreated cavities is a bad idea.
You can also get your teeth cleaned first, or the whitening treatment won’t work well. Listen to your dentist’s advice if they recommend a different treatment. An at-home whitening tray isn’t the best method for everyone.
Do Everything Carefully
When you get the whitening tray and the bleaching solution, do everything one step at a time. Try the whitening tray on and see if it fits your mouth properly before you put any bleaching solution in it.
It doesn’t fit you properly if the whitening tray goes more than a few millimeters over your gums. A poorly fitting tray can burn your gums or other soft parts of your mouth.
Don’t use too much whitening gel. Don’t assume that more whitening gel will make your teeth whiter. A little is a lot. Some whitening gel will spill onto your gums if you use too much. Again, don’t leave the whitening tray in for too long – that is one of the easiest ways to make your teeth very sensitive for a long time.
After you are done, clean your mouth out properly. Don’t be paranoid – it isn’t a dangerous procedure. If you get a small amount of bleaching agent on your gums, remove it immediately, and it probably won’t hurt you. You don’t need to be paranoid, but you should be careful.
