I have been wanting to bleach my teeth for a while, but just haven’t had the money. I started thinking about it today and wondered if I could just use my household bleach that I use for my clothes. If so, would I just swish it around in my mouth?
Sunny
Dear Sunny,
Home Bleaching Trays
While I applaud the fact that you are trying to think outside the box for a solution, this will not work the way you want it to. Bleach is a corrosive base, sort of like Lye. It can actually burn away tissue, including your gums, lips, and inside your mouth. In fact, many dentists use it to eat away the dead tissue inside a tooth after doing a root canal treatment. I’m guessing this is not something you want to happen to the living tissue inside your mouth. Addiitonally, when bleach reacts with certain chemicals it forms a toxic chlorine gas, which can actually kill you.
The typical bleach you see for household use is not what your dentists use. The chemical they use is much safer. Even so, they still provide you with teeth whitening trays that are designed to limit the bleaching gel to only interacting with your actual tooth structure as a protection for your gums.
It is hard when you have something you want, that you know will be good for you, but do not have the money for it. I am going to suggest you speak with your dentist about the situation. He or she may be willing to allow you to pay out the procedure over time. If your dentist refuses that, then there is nothing wrong with you looking for another dentist to do your teeth whitening. You don’t have to switch dentists completely. There are many dentists who go to one dentist for their general work and another for their cosmetic work.
If you need to do that, I would look for someone who advertises as an affordable dentist. These dentists are much more likely to allow you to make payments on a procedure than other dentists.
This blog is brought to you by Parma Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.