There are many whitening claims being made by many brands of toothpastes on the market today. However, whitening toothpastes are generally completely ineffective at permanently whitening the teeth. They are simply not on the teeth long enough for any whitening agents to penetrate into the teeth. Penetration is what is required for significant whitening. When a cosmetic dentist whitens your teeth, there is generally a tray placed on your teeth, and the whitening gel will remain in the tray for maybe a half hour or longer. The reason for this is to allow the whitening gel to penetrate your teeth. A toothpaste which is merely brushed on and rinsed off has no chance to soak in and so will not whiten your teeth.
We do recommend Supersmile toothpaste for people with cosmetic dental work. Supersmile does have an agent in it that is very effective at dissolving surface tooth stains. But it won't whiten the interior of the tooth the way teeth whitening treatments do, only the surface.
Other toothpaste links:
- A general discussion about toothpastes for cosmetic dental bonding.
- Supersmile® toothpaste recommended for coffee and tobacco stains on teeth.
- Bad breath toothpaste has special anti-bacterial chemicals in it.
- There is also a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth.
- Supersmile® is the only toothpaste shown to keep Peridex antibacterial rinse from staining teeth.
- Supersmile® recommended for the care of porcelain veneers.
- Supersmile® recommended for care of composite bonding.
- Supersmile® toothpaste recommended after the teeth whitening procedure.
- Hal in Florida wonders what to do about stains on the backs of his teeth.
- Advice on what to do about stained porcelain veneers-first try Supersmile® toothpaste.
Crest Whitestrips, however, do whiten the teeth a little. For more information about Whitestrips, click here.
Click here for information about other over-the-counter tooth whitening products, click here.
Click here for referral to an expert cosmetic dentist, click here.
To return to the frequent questions page, click here