Before whitening your teeth – whether in your dentist’s office or at home with a pre-packaged teeth whitening kit – there are some things that you should do first to prepare for teeth whitening.

See Your Dentist

Either during your routine visit or make an appointment to talk to your dentist about whitening your teeth. Your dentist will evaluate your needs taking your teeth’s unique health issues into consideration, and give you advice on how best to proceed, as well as tell you about options you have for treatments in your dentist’s office and what is known about the pre-packaged treatment kits that are available in stores.

Have Your Teeth Cleaned

If you do your teeth whitening treatment after having your teeth cleaned, you will achieve better results. Whitening your teeth while there is plaque or tartar still on them will not give you the best results you are looking for. It is so much better to do your teeth whitening after a cleaning so that the plaque and tartar are removed and you are able to whiten the whole tooth.

Check Out a Shade Guide

Before you have your teeth whitened, compare the shade of your teeth to those on a shade guide and identify which shade most closely matches the shade of your teeth. You want to do this to first establish your goal shade, whether you want to go up two shades lighter or ten shades lighter, for example, and you will use this to compare your teeth after whitening to see if you have achieved your desired results.

A Special Note to Mothers – It is best not to use teeth whitening products if you are expecting or nursing, as it is not known if the chemicals may cause harm to your baby.

Stay tuned for the next blog post when we go more in-depth on “How Often Should I Whiten My Teeth.”