Over-the-counter teeth whitening products are popping up everywhere online — even EBay — with many of these products coming from companies in China.
Often the teeth whitening treatments available online contain high levels of hydrogen peroxide, which can be damaging to teeth enamel.
Tooth whitening is typically a safe dental treatment when carried out by a dentist who can determine if the dental patient is a good candidate for teeth whitening.
Based on this influx of teeth whitening kits from oversees, The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists about the popularity of over-the-counter teeth whitening products.
43% of the dentist respondents have seen the demand for over-the-counter whiteners increase, while 35% feel dental patients have become less interested in over-the-counter treatments. 22% believe the demand for these products have remained steady.
Here’s what some dentists had to say about over-the-counter teeth whiteners —
“A lot of patients have whitened their teeth. It seems that the ones who wanted whiter teeth have already done it.” (Oklahoma dentist)
“Whitestrips have had a significant impact on our office’s billings for cosmetic procedures. Revenues are down as patients use these instead of chair-side and tray whitening.” (Georgia dentist)
“We have had many patient’s complain that over-the-counter whiteners did not whiten there teeth enough or did not whiten interproximally very well. Take-home professional whitening with trays is one of the best available because we can whiten the whole tooth on all surfaces to get the tooth the whitest in can be.” (Ohio prosthodontist)
“Best place for patients to start if they have had a dental exam to rule out contraindications to whitening.” (New York dentist)
“With over-the-counter products patients can run the risk of over-whitening their teeth and making them susceptible to brittleness and sensitivity which can lead to bigger issues down the road.” (General dentist)
“With the cost of in-office whitening treatments going down, we have seen the demand for over-the-counter whiteners decrease.” (Wisconsin dentist)
What has your experience with over-the-counter teeth whitening products? Are you seeing dental patients less interested in these products, or has demand remained steady?
