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Evidence Position Paper Final
Evidence Position Paper Final
At Home Whitening
There are many reasons as to why teeth become discoloured. Once teeth become a certain
colour, it is hard to permanently change them back to the original or a more esthetically pleasing
colour (Carey, C. M.,2014). Many individuals choose to whiten their teeth due to esthetics and
dissatisfaction with the colour of their teeth. With a multitude of products on the market and in
dental offices, an individual who may consider whitening their teeth will first wonder which
product is better. There are many different products on the market that claim to be the best
whitening product. However, through many studies and research, it is proven that having your
teeth professionally whitened, whether it would be at home whitening or office whitening is
more effective than an over the counter product (Carey, C. M., 2014). Choosing a whitening
product most often involves comparing price, length of treatment, cost, and effectiveness.
Nevertheless, the question that still remains is, which whitening product is more effective: at
home whitening or in office whitening to gain whiter teeth?
In-office bleaching materials contain high hydrogen peroxide concentrations ranging
from 15-38%, while the hydrogen peroxide content in at-home bleaching products usually ranges
from 3% to 10% (De Geus, D., Wambier, L., Kossatz, S., Loguercio, A., and Reis, S., 2016).
Most Dentists suggest at-home bleaching products as it is more cost efficient and more general
practices carry the at-home whitening products (Dawson, P., Sharif, M., Smith, A., and Brunton,
P., 2011). Although at-home whitening has been shown to be effective, results may vary
depending on certain factors, such as prevalence of stain, age of patient, concentration of the
active agent in the whitening product, treatment time, frequency and patient compliance with the
treatment (Dawson, P., et al., 2011). Therefore, it is assumed that due to the high concentration of
bleaching agents in the in-office whitening products and more patient compliance to in-office
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