Our Wilmington Dentist, Dr. Bruce Fay, explains that it is hardly news that many people nowadays are looking for ways to improve their smiles. One of the most affordable and least invasive ways is to whiten your teeth. But how? Most people are aware that many dentists are able to help them with whitening, but at a price that may not seem appealing. On the other hand, there are many over-the-counter (OTC) products that are intended for this purpose. So which is better? Is the dentist’s fee for this procedure worth it, or are OTCs worth anything at all? The answer may surprise you.

Almost all whitening systems use some form of peroxide as the “active ingredient.” Therefore, almost all systems WILL whiten your teeth. But there’s a catch. The strength of that “ingredient” is not the same in all systems. The lesser the concentration of it in the product, the more slowly it will work. And, not surprisingly, OTCs are usually much weaker than office-based systems. Because they work so slowly, many people have tried OTCs only to get frustrated and lose their motivation and never get the results they were hoping for. Dentist office-based systems, especially the ones that are actually applied in the office rather than as take-home trays and gels, just work faster and therefore the odds of getting the results you want within a tolerable period of time are much higher. At New Concept Dental we really like the ZOOM! tooth whitening system. Granted, it costs more than a few stick-on strips, but you really do get what you pay for.