Teeth whitening strips are an effective at-home solution for whitening teeth. They are also obtainable within just a few days of use, with months-long results. However, many people use whitening strips incorrectly. They either use them too little, which means no results, or they use them too much, which can cause all sorts of side effects.
In this blog post, we’ll help ensure you use the tooth whitening strips just the right amount.
Always Follow Manufacturer Guidelines
There are many different whitening strips on the market, each designed to a slightly different strength or perhaps with slightly different chemicals. Any advice that the manufacturer gives will trump anything that we write here. The manufacturer knows best, so always follow their instructions. So, if a manufacturer says that you should use your whitening strips a maximum of one time every couple of days, then do that.
How Often You Should be Using Whitening Strips
A lot of it will be dependent on your overall whitening goals.
If you want to get your teeth white as quickly as possible—and we are talking several shades whiter—then using them once or twice daily for several weeks may work. It can create sensitive teeth if you’re not careful, but for most people, it should be safe. Just make sure you watch for the side effects, which we’ll discuss in a short while.
If you want to maintain the whiteness of your teeth, rather than turning them from yellow to a glistening white, you probably won’t need to use the whitening strips more than once or twice per week. When you already have bright white teeth, whitening strips won’t have much impact if you’re using them daily, so you may as well save a little bit of money and use them only when you need a bit of a ‘touch up’.
Of course, you may need to adapt how often you use the teeth whitening strips over time. Just because you start off using them daily doesn’t mean that you need to keep using them daily. Have a look at the teeth. See how white they are, and then adjust the use of the whitening strips to your overall goals at that moment in time.
How to Know You’ve Used Whitening Strips Too Much
Whitening strips, when used properly, are safe to use. However, you can ‘overuse’ them. When you ‘overuse’ them, it can cause all sorts of side effects. This includes:
- Sensitive teeth: If you notice sensitive teeth when you use whitening strips, this could indicate that you are using them far too often. Sensitive teeth may be apparent when you eat or drink something hot or cold. If this happens, it may be wise to skip using the whitening strips for a few days.
- Gum pain: If you’ve been using the whitening strips correctly, the chances of you having gum pain can be minimal. However, it can happen if the chemical on the whitening strips repeatedly comes into contact with the gums. Discontinue use for a short period for your gums to recover.
- Discolouration of the teeth: Overusing teeth whitening strips can damage the tooth enamel. This can cause discolouration. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot that you can do about this. However, if you’re starting to spot a bit of discolouration on your teeth, then it might be wise to stop using the teeth whitening strips, at least for a while, and take stock of the situation. You don’t want that discolouration to get worse.
To be honest, many of these side effects can also be tied to incorrect usage of the whitening strips, as opposed to using them too much. For example, if you’re experiencing gum pain, you might have been pushing the whitening strips against the gums.
It is worth noting that you should only use quality tooth whitening strips. They are made with better ingredients, which means that there is a far lower chance of side effects from overuse. This is why we highly recommend the Crest whitening strips, which you can pick up from our website. They are dentist-approved.
How Often Should You Use Teeth Whitening Strips?
You must follow manufacturer instructions when you’re using tooth whitening strips. Most can be used daily, but slightly stronger teeth whitening strips may need to be used less to ensure you don’t damage your teeth. Keep your whitening goals in mind while ensuring you don’t have any side effects from using the whitening strips. If you experience tooth or gum pain, discontinue use for a few days and take stock of the situation. Besides that, you can use most whitening strips once or twice daily for weeks without any major issues.
