Can Teeth Whitening Cause Dental Dryness?

By Michael Givens DDS PLLC | Published on November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

The potential for teeth whitening to dry out a patient’s teeth is there, however Michael O. Givens, DDS PLLC says the odds of that happening are very small. Even if a patient’s teeth do become somewhat dry because of a teeth whitening treatment, Dr. Givens says it is unlikely that patient would notice the change because the effect would be so small.

What is more likely, explains the Charlotte cosmetic dentist, is that a patient may experience slight sensitivity after undergoing a teeth whitening treatment. Tooth sensitivity is listed as a potential side effect of both professional and non-professional teeth whitening. As a general rule of thumb, Dr. Givens does not recommend teeth whitening for patients who already have very sensitive teeth to the point where they are using a specially formulated toothpaste.

If a person is already dealing with the effects of sensitive teeth before undergoing any type of teeth whitening treatment, then the Charlotte cosmetic dentist says he would not recommend a professional whitening session in most cases. However, people who do not have any preexisting sensitivity issues generally do not have to worry about experiencing any extreme pain or discomfort after undergoing whitening treatments at their dentists’ offices.

As a cosmetic dentist in Charlotte, Dr. Givens says he would consider anyone with otherwise healthy teeth a good candidate for whitening. The only contraindication for whitening, or reason why a person may not want to whiten his teeth, would be if he or she already had extremely sensitive teeth to the point where it was difficult to eat or drink cold foods. In that situation, Dr. Givens goes as far as to say it would be foolish to whiten those teeth, since the treatment is just going to potentially make the situation worse.

For the vast majority of people, however, there are no instances of increased sensitivity after having teeth whitened. If any discomfort were to occur, it would be during the days immediately following the treatment and it would be temporary. Dr. Givens says temporary sensitivity issues usually go away as soon as the patient stops using the whitening solution provided by his or her dentist.

The particular whitening agent that Dr. Givens uses has fluoride in it. The Charlotte cosmetic dentist says that fluoride is used to counteract any sensitivity issues, and the use of fluoride in the whitening agent has significantly cut down on reports of discomfort in the days following whitening treatments.

At his office in Charlotte, Dr. Givens prefers giving patients take-home trays rather than offering in-office treatments. He explains that there has been quite a bit of research and there truly isn’t a big advantage to the systems that use special wavelengths of light to whiten teeth in the office, except speed.

If a patient is in a real hurry, then in-office whitening with or without a special light is going to give him or her much whiter teeth in just one or two visits. If a person is not in as big of a rush, and is more concerned about the economics of the treatment, then Dr. Givens says it is more economical to do at-home whitening over the course of one or two weeks.

*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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