One side effect of whitening your teeth is sensitivity to hot and cold. This article explains what causes tooth sensitivity and how to prevent it.

1. How to Avoid Tooth Sensitivity After Teeth Whitening (Part 1)
One side effect of whitening your teeth is sensitivity to hot and cold. This article explains what causes tooth sensitivity and how to prevent it.
Toothwhiteningisprobablythemostcommoncosmetictreatmentworldwide--evenmorepopularthanBotox!Thisislikelybecausetheeffectsofgoodtoothwhiteningproductscanlastforseveralmonthstooverayear,andtheresultsbringaboutapositivechangeinappearance.Justwhiteningyourteethcanmakeyoulook10yearsyounger,andthatcan’tbesaidformanyothertherapiesthataremuchmoreexpensive.EventhoughtoothwhiteninginNYCisrelativelysafe,itisn’t100%freeofsideeffects.Themostcommonsideeffectreportedistoothsensitivity.Thisismoreoftentheresultofmisuseoftheproduct,suchasleavingtheproductontoolong.Anothercauseoftoothsensitivitycanbeusingtoostrongofasolution,especiallyifyoualreadyhavesensitiveteeth.Someteethwhiteningsolutionscanalsobeabrasivetoyourgums,causingsomebleedingorcankersoresinthearea.

2. Teeth Whitening Side Effects
Inanunofficialsurveyconductedbyoneprominenttoothwhiteningcompany,itwasfoundthatasmallpercentageofusersexperiencedsometemporarysideeffectstothetoothwhiteningtreatment.Becauseofthebleachingprocess,somechemicalssuchashydrogenperoxideareusedasthebleachingagentinmostproducts. Manypeopledonothaveanyreactiontothisbleachingagent,especiallyifonlyusedforafewhoursatatime. Otherpeople,forsomereasonoranother,willhavesideeffectstothehydrogenperoxidesolution.
Themostcommonsideeffectissensitivitytohotorcoldliquids,soups,oricecreams.Usually,thesensitivityisonlytemporary.Inrarecases,thesensitivitymaybepermanentandspecialtoothpastesmayberequiredtoalleviatesymptoms.
Thesecondmostcommonsideeffectiscankersoresorotherabrasionsinthemouthasaresultofthechemicalsusedtobleachtheteeth.Usingacustom-fittedmouthtraymadeatyourdentist’sofficewillusuallypreventthissideeffectbecausethetrayislesslikelytorubthesofttissuesofyourmouthwhenitismadespecificallyforyourmouthandisn’taone-size-fits-alldentaltray.
AslongasyoufollowthedirectionspreciselygiventoyoubyyourdentistinNewYorkoronthepackageinsertoftheproductyouchoosetouse,youcanavoidmostsideeffects.Overfillingatoothwhiteningtraywiththegelcanbeabrasivetoyourgums.Youonlywantthegeltocoveryourteeth,andnotyourgumtissue.Usually, onlyapea-sizedamountofwhiteninggelisneededtocovereachofyourteeth.Leavingthegelonforlongerthandirectedcanalsocauseproblemswithtoothsensitivityandmouthsores.