The options for whitening teeth today are essentially a variety of methods used to bleach the teeth. They vary from expensive laser treatments that require multiple trips to the dentist, to simple white bleaching strips that are affixed to the front of the teeth while at home. Crest makes a variety of bleaching strips that work fairly well, although they won’t necessarily reach the entire outer surface of the tooth because of the rounded edges where one tooth meets the next.
The active ingredient in all treatments for yellow teeth whitening is hydrogen peroxide. It is used in laser teeth whitening and contained in the strips that you can buy at any drugstore. GoSmile makes a gel that is brushed on the teeth; it contains carbamide peroxide which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide when the product is used. This is the same active ingredient for all home remedies – it has about one third the strength of hydrogen peroxide but works well when applied several times.
One of the applications that provides a thorough process for yellow teeth is the use of mouth trays for the teeth whitening bleaching treatment. These U-shaped trays fit over either your upper or lower set of teeth. They are filled with a bleaching gel and pushed into position over your teeth, where they remain for an extended period.
You can have your dentist make a set of mouth trays for you that match your bite exactly, and then apply the treatments at home. The other option is buying a bleaching kit over the counter that contains one-size-fits-all trays. Some people can make these work, and some cannot.
There are several natural teeth whitening remedies that have become well known. The use of baking soda as tooth paste seems to have some effect – some recipes call for the addition of salt to the baking soda, presumably to act as an abrasive. Another option is the strawberry, which can be mashed up and applied directly to the teeth or used as toothpaste.
A warning goes with this procedure however, as the acid in the berry can damage the enamel on your teeth. A third and similar option is rubbing your teeth with a lemon peel and then brushing. The citric acid in the lemon can also do substantial harm to the surface of the teeth, so using this method can be a risky proposition.