Teeth Whitening Strips

In addition to over-the-counter gels and brush-on whiteners, you also recently have the option of whitening strips. Like other do-it-yourself methods, whitening strips are easy to use, and perhaps best of all, there’s no messy liquid ingredient involved.

How Teeth Whitening Strips Work

Whitening strips are thin, flexible pieces of plastic (usually polyethylene) that have been coated on one side with a thin film of hydrogen peroxide (the active bleaching ingredient). Strips come in pairs: one for the upper arch and one for the lower arch. An average treatment program involves placing the strips on your teeth below the gum line twice a day for 30 minutes. They’re designed to complete their effectiveness with about one to two weeks of use.

One of the perks of whitening strips is that, unlike trays, strips are not as visible, and don’t aggravate your jaw or promoting gagging and salivation that can make mouth guards uncomfortable. As long as you make sure not to touch the gum with the strips, you don’t have to worry as much about gum irritation, either.

In other ways, whitening strips don’t work as well as liquid-based whitening methods. One of the biggest problems is that the strips are flat, and since teeth are curved, the strips don’t fully cover the curved parts near the sides of teeth. For this reason, sometimes only the fronts of teeth become whiter, while you can still see the original tooth color at the edges of teeth. Also, since it can be difficult to position the strips around the entire arch, sometimes the front teeth get white while others are still dark. Some people call this the “Mr. Ed effect,” from the TV show starring a horse with very noticeable white front teeth.

Teeth Whitening Strips have a
moderate whitening effect

How Long Do Teeth Whitening Strips Last?

Depending on how prone your teeth are to turning yellow, whitening strips effectiveness varies, but is generally less long-lasting than gels. An average time is 6 months to a year.