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Should Teeth Whitening Be Allowed In Salons

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What is teeth whitening? Teeth whitening is the process of using bleach or other materials to make the teeth appear whiter. The materials remove stains or other discoloration from the tooth surface. The main concern of everyone, is should it be allowed outside of a dental office or not. There are articles upon articles, debating whether teeth whitening should be allowed in salons or kiosks, and dental offices. In my opinion, they shouldn’t be allowed outside of the dental office, for a number of reasons, which will later be explained. Since the 1990s, new technology has offered consumers many options to brighten their smiles. There are many options to getting whiter teeth, however some are safer than others. Mary Otto, author of “Understanding …show more content…

According to “Tooth Whitening-- A Safe, Affordable Way to Improve Your Smile,” there are a list of safety concerns. On the second page, it says “Dentist supervised bleaching is also safer and more effective than current over the counter, (OTC) products. Your dentist will design a treatment program that is specific to your individual needs, and will include:” Then a list is of three is created to show that Dental Office whitening is better than salon whitening. Including proper fitting mouth tray, which OTC bleaching trays don’t provide, gum sensitivity can be damaged due to a minimum or maximum bleach concentration, and creating a treatment program to whiten your natural and restored teeth. There are two methods of dentist supervised bleaching, in office bleaching or at home treatment. With in office bleaching, a whitening gel is applied to the teeth, and activated by light. Power bleaching can be done in one to five visits, usually 45 minutes or more. Home bleaching may be recommended to enhance the effects. At home supervised dental bleaching, the patient wear a custom fitted mouth tray, containing whitening gel for a few hours every day or night. The trays can be adjusted to lighten individual teeth. Mouth trays may be worn from one to five weeks. Two to five dental visits are required to check how the mouth tray fits, and to have an overall …show more content…

Salon bleaching could be labeled as unsanitary. “We do not know about what level of sterilization and disinfection is being done. You’re dealing with something that is totally unregulated,” Dr. Leslie Seldin said. In the article, “Tooth Whitening-- A Safe, Affordable Way to Improve Your Smile,” Improper fitting mouth trays may hold your jaws too far apart and cause potential jaw problems. Improperly fitting mouth trays may also leak, causing possible gum irritation and less effective bleaching. Dentists can also monitor the process of bleaching. They can vary the level of bleach used to minimize or avert any type of discomfort. While in at OTC kit, you get a concentrated amount of bleach, that can’t be altered and most likely a “one size fits all” mouth tray. The New Jersey Dental Association sued Beach Bum, due to alleging unfair competition and accusing the tanning chain of practicing illegal dentistry. Some dentists were able to prevail, and block salons from providing teeth whitening in 2009. Since the gel was applied in the store, it constituted

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