I keep getting advertisements for Premium Home Whitening. I have always wanted to get my teeth whitened. It is a little lower in price than what my dentist charges but not quite low enough that I am willing to take a risk on it. Do you know if it is a legitimate product?

KellyAnne

Dear KellyAnne,

After looking over this product I see their teeth whitening ingredient is 35% carbamide peroxide. This is a completely valid teeth whitening ingredient and it will whiten your teeth. That is great news. I do have some things for you to consider, though, before you make a decision.

The bleaching tray is my main concern. The image above is similar to what you would get from your dentist for professional teeth whitening. It is custom fit to your specific bite. The tray with Premium Home Whitening is more of a DIY type thing. It will not be a custom fit. This will lead to some issues.

The biggest issue will be leakage. That means the teeth whitening gel will leak out some. It will take more gel to whiten your teeth. A second issue with the leakage is that your saliva can get into the tray. This will lessen the effectiveness of the gel. Both of these issues will end up costing you more money in the long run.

One other thing which concerns me about this kit with the tray is the risk to your gums. Because the trays are not fit as snugly as they should be the gel will reach your gums. There are documented cases of people needing a root canal treatment as a result of using an over-the-counter whitening treatment. It is always safer for a patient to have their teeth whitened under the care of a dentist.

As the price is fairly close to what your dentist would offer and you would need to use several kits to equal what professional teeth whitening could do, I would simply speak to your dentist and see if he would let you do payments or even come down a little on his price so you could afford to get your teeth whitening done under his or her care.

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