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AT THE MOMENT, teeth whitening treatments are more accessible than ever before. 

That’s not necessarily a good thing, though. On an episode of This Morning earlier in the week, Ruth and Eamonn were talked through the various methods of teeth whitening by a dentist, who gave his opinion on which mode he thought was most reliable. Dr Guy Barwell began with whitening toothpastes, which he thinks have come a long way in recent years. 

 But… it’s not looking at the same type of whitening that you’re talking about where you’re going to whiten the intrinsic part of the tooth of itself. It’s going to improve and help the colouring by getting rid of [coffee and other food] stains – but you’re not going to get that next level of improvement.

Then he gave his opinion on mouthwashes that claim they can whiten your teeth. Dr Barwell said these have very little benefit, if any, and can lift stains, but they’re no match for toothpaste. He also added that patients would be better off just dedicating an extra minute to brushing their teeth than using a whitening mouthwash. He wasn’t too mad on charcoal toothpastes either, pointing out that they might give you a better clean because they’re more abrasive than a regular toothpaste, but they aren’t going to intrinsically change the colour of your teeth. 

Ultimately, this dentist believed that bleaching trays fitted by dentists is the most effective method, but only when used with bleach provided by a dentist. It’s not a great idea to buy them online, apparently:

People seek out stronger chemicals [...] There’s a maximum amount we’re allowed to use in the UK, but if you look on the internet you can buy several times that and it’s a much bigger risk. 

Have you ever whitened your teeth?

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