Teeth whitening products are becoming increasingly prevalent, but that doesn’t mean they’re any safer. It’s still easy to accidentally overuse them or not follow all precautions, without realizing the potentially disastrous consequences.

Four Corners Dental Group, Anchorage, and Wasilla’s leading cosmetic dentistry, explain more below about the most common dangers of DIY whitening:

• Tooth & Gum Sensitivity With Over-The-Counter Products: The most common symptom of improper teeth whitening is increased tooth and gum sensitivity. In most cases, the irritation is small and goes away after a while, but the pain can also be severe, possibly leading to nerve damage.

• Uneven Whitening: Teeth naturally have a yellow hue, and ignoring this fact can lead you to destroy tooth enamel or get uneven whitening results. For healthy results, always consult your dentist about teeth whitening. They may even determine certain at-home whitening products are fine but also warn you of any relevant concerns.  

• Stomach Problems: Do not whiten your teeth overnight. Your whitening tray could leak while you’re asleep, causing you to swallow whitening bleach. The amounts will likely be minimal, but it’s still not the worth the risk of stomach pain.

• Internal Damage Via Undiscovered Cavities: One of the reasons teeth whitening is best done at a cosmetic dentistry is because the average person can’t diagnose their own cavities. This is important because, if tooth bleach makes its way into a cavity, the results could be so bad that you may end up needing a root canal.

• Corrosion: Two of the most well-known DIY tooth whitening ingredients are baking soda and lemon juice, but they may be the worst ingredients. They’re incredibly abrasive, especially when used repeatedly. While baking soda figures in many name-brand toothpastes, its function is to clean, not whiten, and there is usually a very small amount of it in toothpaste.

If you’re looking for a cosmetic dentistry near Anchorage or Wasilla, Four Corners Dental Group has two convenient branches in both places! To reach the Anchorage office, call (907) 258-3384, or for Wasilla, call (907) 376-2790. For more contact information, refer to the contact page online.