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These days, there are thousands of different teeth whitening kits and treatments to choose from, making it hard to determine how to safely and effectively whiten your teeth at home. For example, there are natural teeth whitening treatments that involve baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, there are over-the-counter teeth whitening products, like Crest Teeth Whitening Strips, and there are do-it-yourself (DIY) teeth whitening kits that utilize teeth whitening gel and a blue light. Some methods work better than others, and often, it’s worth it to schedule a professional teeth whitening treatment with your dentist. However, at Trillium Dental in Ottawa, we offer both in-clinic and take-home teeth whitening kits, so here are a few tips and tricks for teeth whitening at home.

RESEARCH THE BEST TEETH WHITENING PRODUCTS

The first step in ensuring that you get the best teeth whitening product available is by doing a little research. Look up dentist-approved teeth whitening kits online, or give your family dentist a call to see what method they recommend. More often than not, your local dental clinic will have some form of take-home teeth whitening kit for you to try, so you can drop by anytime or pick one up at your next dental exam. If you’re planning on ordering a teeth whitening kit online, be sure to also check out customer reviews and read the safety label before making your purchase.

Read More: Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP)

SET ASIDE ENOUGH TIME

One of the biggest mistakes people make when doing teeth whitening at home is that they don’t allocate enough time to get it done. In most cases, teeth whitening gel should sit on your teeth for an hour, and many teeth whitening products say to repeat this process every day for a week or more until you’ve reached the desired results. So, if you’re getting ready for a wedding, graduation, or some other special event, don’t leave your teeth whitening until the last minute. If the instructions say to do a series of one-hour increments, start the week prior to your event so you learn how to whiten teeth safely and know what to expect.

BE GENTLE WITH YOUR GUMS

It is not uncommon for people to experience some gum irritation and tooth sensitivity when they do teeth whitening at home — after all, you’re not a dental professional with years of experience whitening patients’ teeth. So, take your time, read the instructions, and only apply the teeth whitening gel to the surface of your teeth, making sure not to get it all over your gums. If your teeth or gums become sensitive during the treatment, gently remove the gel completely and try again later. The good news is that even when it is removed, most teeth whitening gels will continue to lighten your teeth for up to an hour, so even if you only fit in a half hour of whitening, you may see some results.

DON’T OVERDO IT

If there’s one final piece of advice to leave you with, it’s to not overdo it when whitening your teeth at home. Follow the instructions carefully, and you’ll likely see results without having to do anything extra. Often, people think that the longer they leave the teeth whitening gel on their pearly whites, the whiter their teeth will get. This is true, but leaving the gel on too long is not good for your teeth, and it can result in heightened gum and tooth sensitivity. It is also worth noting that many dentists and doctors recommend that pregnant or nursing women do not use teeth whitening treatments, as is the case for people with dental problems, porcelain veneers, or any other kind of cosmetic dental work. Teeth whitening gel does not lighten dental crowns or composite bonding, so these may need to be replaced to match the color of your newly whitened teeth.

BOOK A TEETH WHITENING APPOINTMENT AT TRILLIUM DENTAL

If you’re looking for the best teeth whitening treatments in Ottawa, you’ve come to the right place! At Trillium Dental, we offer in-clinic teeth whitening treatments that’ll leave you with a beautiful white smile in an hour. In fact, patients’ teeth are up to nine shades whiter after just one teeth whitening appointment with us! Call us today to schedule your next teeth whitening treatment and experience the difference of professional cosmetic dentistry services like Zoom!® whitening.

Of course, we realize that some patients would rather whiten their teeth from the comfort of their own home, which is why we also offer take-home teeth whitening kits that are safe, effective, and approved by our sedation dentist. Plus, they’re affordable and easy to use! Contact us to learn more, or visit Trillium Dental in Kanata, Downtown Ottawa, Orleans, Alta Vista, Stittsville, Stittsville West, or the Bayshore or Westgate Mall to pick up a teeth whitening kit today!

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If you’re like most people, you’d love to have perfectly white teeth without having to do anything to maintain the beautiful shine of your pearly whites, but for many people, this is simply not a reality. There are many factors that play into the color of your teeth and their overall appearance, including your oral hygiene habits, quality of dental care, and, you guessed it: your diet.

At Trillium Dental in Ottawa, we offer professional teeth whitening treatments and take-home teeth whitening kits for patients who wish to improve the color of their teeth, and our Zoom! whitening procedure has proven to whiten teeth up to nine shades in an hour-long session at our family dental clinic. However, if you’re wondering how to whiten teeth without using teeth whitening gel or DIY teeth whitening techniques, avoid smoking cigarettes and limit your consumption of these five foods:

COFFEE & BLACK TEA

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but coffee and black tea consumption is one of the leading causes of stained teeth among adults — particularly college students and working adults. This is because the dark color and acidity of coffee and dark tea can cause the teeth to absorb some of it, resulting in tooth discoloration and unsightly yellow teeth stains over time. The more coffee, chai tea, and English breakfast tea you drink, the more susceptible you are to experiencing some level of tooth discoloration, so if you’re wondering how to keep your teeth white without giving up these delicious drinks, consider using a straw to avoid direct contact with your teeth.

RED & WHITE WINE

Again, we hate to be the one to break it to you, but wine is another culprit of yellowing teeth. Like coffee and black tea, red wine is high in sugar and acid content, in addition to being a dark beverage, which creates the perfect environment for tooth staining. Though white wine is light in color, its sugar and acidic properties still put you at risk of staining your teeth. This is because the acid in grapes, oranges, and many other citrus fruits latches onto your teeth and begins to eat away at the tooth enamel if it is not removed via brushing and flossing. Drinking wine through a straw, no matter how “dorky” it may be, is the best way for winos to avoid staining their teeth, and luckily, there are many different wine straws available online!

CITRUS FRUITS & DARK BERRIES

The same logic applies to citrus fruits and dark berries. Though these delicious treats contain high levels of vitamin C, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthy, balanced diet, they are not the best for your teeth. This goes back to the high sugar and acid content in wine and citrus fruits, which love to hang out on the tooth surface, causing tooth yellowing, stains, and uneven tooth discoloration. Our dentists certainly aren’t here to tell you to cut fruit and veggies out of your diet, so if there’s one tooth-staining food category that you should be sure to include, it’s colorful fruit and veggies!

TOMATOES & PASTA SAUCE

Tomatoes are another healthy food that are not so great for your teeth, as the dark red color and acid in these tasty veggies (or fruits?) take a particular liking to your tooth enamel. Plus, tomatoes are a popular ingredient that is found in a wide variety of cuisines, from Italian food, like ravioli and spaghetti, to popular Mexican dishes and American condiments like ketchup. This makes it harder to avoid including tomatoes in your diet, so if you’re really concerned about tomatoes staining your teeth, cut down on this veggie when you can and be sure to brush your teeth after eating a dish that includes tomatoes or pasta sauce.

CANDY & SODA

As if you needed another reason to eliminate candy, soda, and sugary sports drinks from your diet, consider the negative effect they have on your teeth. Dark colas are particularly notorious for contributing to tooth discoloration, given that the dark color, when combined with the chemicals and added sugar, can cause your teeth to yellow with time. Because of these unnatural chemicals and excessive amounts of sugar, soda and candy are some of the worst things you can put in your body, period. So, if you’re looking for a natural teeth whitening method, do your body a favor and cut soda out of your diet, as well as other detrimental chemicals like those found in candy, processed foods, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarettes.

SCHEDULE A PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING TREATMENT AT TRILLIUM DENTAL

While our dentists highly recommend cutting down artificial sugar consumption (i.e. soda and candy) for better oral health, there is another way to improve the color of your teeth without cutting down on colorful fruits and veggies. Contact us today to discuss what professional teeth whitening costs here at Trillium Dental in Ottawa, and feel free to reach out to us for recommendations about the best teeth whitening products to use if you wish to do your own teeth whitening at home.

We also offer take-home teeth whitening kits at our Ottawa dental clinic, so feel free to stop by at any time to pick one up and get information about our other cosmetic dentistry treatments. We look forward to meeting you and helping you get that perfect, white smile you’ve been dreaming of!

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If you love coffee, red wine, berries, Coke, and other dark foods and drinks, odds are, your teeth will start to show it over time. It’s unfortunate that some of our favorite foods can stain our teeth and turn them yellow, even if we brush and floss religiously. However, the good news is that there’s an easy fix: teeth whitening services and take-home teeth whitening kits. At Trillium Dental in Ottawa, we offer many different cosmetic dentistry services to help patients regain confidence in their smile, from Invisalign® and porcelain veneers to professional-grade teeth whitening gel.

Teeth whitening treatments and techniques have come a long way in the last few decades, and dental clinics now have access to the best teeth whitening technology available today. At Trillium Dental, we use Zoom!® whitening gel and specialized teeth whitening lights, which can bleach your teeth up to nine shades whiter in an hour (three 15-minute sessions). We also understand that bleaching your teeth from the comfort of your couch is more appealing to some patients, which is why we offer take-home teeth whitening kits for those who would rather do it themselves. That being said, here is a quick and easy guide for whitening your teeth at home!

STEP #1: GET A TEETH WHITENING KIT

These days, you can find teeth whitening kits nearly anywhere — but before you order that cheap teeth whitening kit online or try some kind of DIY teeth whitening method, make sure to do your research so you know what to expect. The internet is full of knock-off teeth whitening kits that aren’t very effective and are difficult to use by yourself, so if you’re looking to dramatically improve the look of your smile, it’s best to pick up a teeth whitening kit at your local dental clinic. At Trillium Dental, we are happy to provide you with a teeth bleaching kit so you can do the teeth whitening at home, so give us a call or stop by our Ottawa dental clinic if you’d like to try it for yourself!

STEP #2: FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS (AND DON’T GET GEL ON YOUR GUMS)

The most important thing to remember when whitening your teeth at home is that you are dealing with chemicals that should not be consumed or come into contact with your gums, which is why these kits require that you only squeeze a small amount of gel into the teeth whitening trays. Often, people will neglect to follow the instructions in their teeth whitening kit and put too much gel in the trays. This can cause you to accidentally get teeth whitening gel on your gums if you’re not careful, which can sting a little and cause irritation. That’s why many patients opt to spend a little extra on professional teeth whitening treatment — our dentists have the skills and experience necessary to do it right and produce great results without harming you.

When you’re bleaching your teeth at home with teeth whitening gel, make sure to only leave it on your teeth for as long as instructed, as your teeth can become sensitive if you leave it on too long. This can easily make the experience unpleasant. If you’ve invested in one of the best teeth whitening products available online or at your local emergency dentist’s office, you shouldn’t have to leave the teeth whitening gel on any longer than it says to in the instructions. Many of the best teeth whitening kits will also come with an LED light that you can shine on the gel to enhance its effectiveness, so take this into account when you’re tempted to leave the teeth whitening gel on longer than instructed.

STEP #3: COMPLETELY REMOVE THE TEETH WHITENING GEL

Once your time is up (usually one hour), take the teeth whitening tray out of your mouth and gently remove the gel. You can do this with a cloth, tissue, or whatever else came in the teeth whitening kit, but no matter how you do it, just make sure to get as much off as possible so you don’t consume any and get an upset stomach. Most teeth whitening bleach will continue to whiten your teeth for a while after it has been removed, which is another reason why you shouldn’t leave it on longer than the instructions recommend. Rinse your mouth thoroughly after use so you get as much teeth whitening gel out of your mouth as possible, and don’t forget to wash the trays so they are ready to go next time you decide to whiten your teeth at home.

PICK UP A TEETH WHITENING KIT AT OUR OTTAWA DENTAL CLINIC

Ready to try whitening your teeth at home? Drop by Trillium Dental in Ottawa today to pick up one of our take-home teeth whitening kits! We look forward to seeing you.