{"id":164,"date":"2014-03-20T13:46:53","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T20:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/?p=164"},"modified":"2016-06-09T19:45:36","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T19:45:36","slug":"is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Do-It-Yourself Teeth Whitening Safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mceTemp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-169\" title=\"Blond Woman with Beautiful Smile\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blond-Woman-with-Beautiful-Smile3-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Beautiful Woman Opted for Professional Teeth Whitening\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blond-Woman-with-Beautiful-Smile3-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blond-Woman-with-Beautiful-Smile3.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>If you spend any time on Pinterest or Facebook or if you<br \/>\nsubscribe to any natural living or do-it-yourself blogs, you have probably seen<br \/>\na number of recipes for whitening your teeth at home. Often accompanied by<br \/>\namazing before-and-after pictures, these homemade whitening formulas promise<br \/>\nastounding results using everyday products you might find around the house.<br \/>\nSounds great, right? Well, before you jump head first (or teeth first) into whitening<br \/>\nat home, take a moment to learn the facts so you enjoy a <a title=\"Tooth Discoloration: Common Causes and What You Can Do To Stop It\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/09\/tooth-discoloration-common-causes-and-what-you-can-do-to-stop-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">brighter smile<\/a> safely.<!--more--><\/div>\n<h2>A Quick Look at DIY Whitening<\/h2>\n<p>For thousands of years, people have used an astonishing<br \/>\narray of ingredients \u2013 from charcoal and ground up stones to animal urine \u2013 to<br \/>\nremove stains from their teeth. In fact, the earliest recorded recipe for teeth<br \/>\nwhitening dates back to the Egyptians who mixed vinegar and powdered pumice<br \/>\nstone to achieve a brighter smile. While the specific ingredients have changed,<br \/>\ntoday\u2019s do-it-yourself teeth whitening formulas generally have two components:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The bleaching agent<\/strong>. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most common bleaching<br \/>\nagents in DIY whitening recipes, although some call for acidic compounds like<br \/>\napple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or mashed strawberries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The abrasive<\/strong>. Nearly all recipes use baking soda to physically scrub surface<br \/>\nsatins, although some recipes call for activated charcoal powder or calcium<br \/>\ncarbonate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Do These Methods Work?<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t let the before-and-after pictures fool you. DIY teeth<br \/>\nwhiteners <em>will<\/em> remove some surface<br \/>\nstains but they will not produce the dramatically brighter results you may<br \/>\nexpect. Hydrogen peroxide is the active ingredient in most OTC and<br \/>\ndentist-administered teeth whitening systems, but the concentration found in<br \/>\nthese commercial products is much higher than what\u2019s in the big brown bottle of<br \/>\nperoxide you have sitting under the bathroom sink.<\/p>\n<h2>Are These Methods Safe?<\/h2>\n<p>If used sparingly (and if you have no other oral health<br \/>\nissues), it\u2019s safe to use a DIY teeth whitening formula once every six weeks or<br \/>\nso. However, most of the websites promoting these formulas recommend using the<br \/>\nseveral times a week. Unfortunately, the abrasive action of the baking soda can<br \/>\nwear down tooth enamel, leading to tooth sensitivity.<\/p>\n<h2>For Safe, Effective Teeth Whitening, Talk to Your Dentist<\/h2>\n<p>If a brighter, more youthful looking smile is important to<br \/>\nyou or if you have extensive staining, your best bet is to talk to Dr. Tillman<br \/>\nabout teeth whitening. Depending on your goals, in-office power whitening or<br \/>\ncustom fitted <a title=\"Teeth Whitening Services in Fort Worth\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/cosmetic-dentistry.html\" target=\"_blank\">take-home whitening trays<\/a> might be right for you. Both of these<br \/>\nmethods are safe and will brighten your teeth by up to 9 shades.<\/p>\n<h2>About David Tillman, DDS<\/h2>\n<p>Drawing from a wealth of continuing education and hands-on<br \/>\nexperience, Dr. David Tillman and his staff are committed to providing<br \/>\nindividuals and families with exceptional general, restorative, and cosmetic<br \/>\ndental care from our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/\">Fort Worth, TX<br \/>\ndentist<\/a>\u2019s office. To schedule an appointment or complimentary consultation<br \/>\nto discuss teeth whitening, call us today at (817) 870-4746. Located in the<br \/>\nheart of the Downtown Fort Worth medical district, we proudly serve patients<br \/>\nfrom across the Metroplex.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you spend any time on Pinterest or Facebook or if you subscribe to any natural living or do-it-yourself blogs, you have probably seen a number of recipes for whitening your teeth at home. Often accompanied by amazing before-and-after pictures, these homemade whitening formulas promise astounding results using everyday products you might find around the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16],"tags":[31,38,44],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Do-It-Yourself Teeth Whitening Safe? - David Tillman DDS Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Do-It-Yourself Teeth Whitening Safe? - David Tillman DDS Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you spend any time on Pinterest or Facebook or if you subscribe to any natural living or do-it-yourself blogs, you have probably seen a number of recipes for whitening your teeth at home. Often accompanied by amazing before-and-after pictures, these homemade whitening formulas promise astounding results using everyday products you might find around the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Tillman DDS Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-20T20:46:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-06-09T19:45:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blond-Woman-with-Beautiful-Smile3-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dr_tillman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dr_tillman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tillmansmiles.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/is-do-it-yourself-teeth-whitening-safe\/\",\"name\":\"Is Do-It-Yourself Teeth Whitening Safe? 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