Both men and women want a beautiful, healthy smile

Whether you like it or not, your smile is one of the key components of a first impression. If you have a mouthful of white, sparkling teeth, you're going to convey a healthy persona to anyone you interact with. On the other hand, if you have a mouthful of stained, chipped, and missing teeth, you're going to convey poor health to anyone you interact with.

Contrary to some rumors, teeth whitening is not bad for your teeth. At home whitening kits would not be available for over the counter purchase if they were dangerous to your health. That being said, the over use of any kind of product can be hazardous to your health. It's always recommended to follow safety guidelines as recommended by the manufacturer of any product.

Truth be told, teeth whitening is different than teeth bleaching. The terms are used interchangeably by the general public and they should not be. When a person uses a whitening product, the product will whiten a person's teeth by removing stains and food debris. Thus, any product that cleans your teeth is technically a whitener and that includes your toothpaste! A bleaching product actually contains a form of bleach (typically listed as peroxide in the ingredients). Bleaching products can whiten teeth beyond their natural color. The visual image associated with the word bleach is that of laundry bleach - a white, one gallon container containing a highly corrosive chemical that would kill you if you drank more than a teaspoon of it. Because of that negative association with the word bleach, most people (including dental professionals) prefer to use the term whitening.

Bleaching is the stronger of the two options for whitening one's teeth. The process should be performed only by a dental professional in a professional dental office. Such conditions allow for the safest use of higher concentrations of bleach, thus producing dramatic results in the least amount of time. When performed by a dental professional, bleaching takes less than sixty minutes of your time and can produce miraculous results in only a single session. However, the procedure is not cheap - most bleaching techniques cost up to ten times the amount of an over-the-counter whitening kit!

If you're a heavy coffee or tea drinker, bleaching will work wonders for your teeth. Likewise if you're a heavy smoker or consume teeth-staining foods in abundance - such as berries, carrots, red wine, cola - then bleaching can produce fantastic results for your teeth.

Your dentist can better determine which type of whitening system is best for your teeth. When you meet with him, you should tell him everything about your food and drug habits. And by drugs, we mean all types of drugs whether purchased over the counter, by prescription, and even those obtained illegally! The more information you can give your dentist in regards to how your teeth became stained in the first place, the better he will be able to develop a whitening regime for your teeth that will produce results.

If you want whiter teeth, schedule an initial consultation with your local dentist. Just remember that once you begin a whitening regime, you'll need to continue it indefinitely if you want to maintain a bright white smile!