It’s a fact of nature that people’s teeth tend to darken as they age, yet in this economy where personal appearance is assumed to be paramount to success, teeth whitening has become a billion dollar industry. Aside from natural darkening, such as from changes in the minerals in tooth enamel, teeth do get stained by certain foods as well as drinks like coffee, tea and wine. So tooth whiteners can make some degree of difference in how the teeth appear.

There are several methods used to whiten teeth, some handled in a professional setting like a dentist’s office, and others that can be done less expensively at home. Anyone who watches television will be familiar with the most publicized method, which involves using strips across the front teeth for short periods of time. Other methods involve trays in which whitening gel is placed, which are then set over the teeth. Most of these strips and gels contain types of peroxide, which bleaches stains out of the enamel and sometimes even penetrates the dentin underneath to bleach it as well.

The basic whitening systems used in a dental office are often similar to those used at home. That is, dentists also employ the trays with gel, except the bleaching agent is considerably stronger than what is allowed for home use. Dental professionals can go well beyond the tray and gel method, however. They can even perform teeth whitening with the help of lasers, which speed up the bleaching process. And if other bleaching methods don’t seem to work, a dentist can apply a lighter colored veneer to the surface of the teeth.

What should be kept in mind, however, is that people themselves can do a lot to help prevent their teeth going dark in the first place, so teeth whitening may be less necessary. There’s no question that certain kinds of food and drink, not to mention smoking, will stain otherwise perfectly white teeth. And the color of both the enamel and the underlying dentin can be affected by eating in an unhealthy way and not getting the right minerals in one’s diet. Healthy eating may be the least expensive method of all to whiten one’s teeth.

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As the economy has slowed in the past few years, people have tried to give themselves an extra business advantage by using teeth whiteners. If they could flash a brighter smile than everyone else, they might get a foot in the door with that potential client, or make that one extra sale. Sometimes they would buy teeth whitening kits at a store, or they might go to a dentist. But then a third option appeared that might give them some professional service without the extra costs of a dental visit. And inadvertently, a big controversy was born.

Sensing a business opportunity of their own, many people began to set up teeth bleaching operations in strip malls and shopping centers. These kiosks or salons were able to offer teeth whiteners comparable to those used in a dental office, but at a more affordable price. As thousands flocked to these establishments, however, associations of dentists began to object. They maintained that practitioners in these clinics were performing dental procedures, which was illegal if they were not licensed, and therefore they should be shut down for the safety of their customers.

The people running the new businesses, in turn, claimed that they weren't doing dental procedures at all, performing cosmetic teeth whitening instead. If the procedures were merely cosmetic, they were really no different from selling makeup. Dentists countered that the teeth whiteners used were at a higher strength than over-the-counter whiteners, whose concentrations are lower precisely for safety reasons. Because of oral health risks, increased tooth sensitivity, and other potential problems, said the dentists, administration of highly-concentrated whiteners required trained dental supervision.

With the American Dental Association's recent petition for the Food and Drug Administration to classify teeth whiteners in a way that would shut down untrained practitioners, it may not be possible to use these clinics and salons for much longer. But caution was always advisable anyway, not merely because dentists were fighting for lost revenue, as the clinics claimed, but because of potential risks. While seeking affordable teeth whitening, even for a business advantage, the issues of safety and proper credentials can never be ignored.