Mouth guards have been used for years to address various problems with tooth protection. Even though one can use them for multiple things, mouth guards are frequently worn at night to prevent grinding.
But recently, people have been using mouth guards for teeth whitening purposes. It is primarily due to its similarity to the whitening tray. However, using a mouth guard to naturally whiten teeth at home is not recommended. Read this post if you want to naturally whiten your teeth at home.
Read on to find out why.
What is a Night Guard?
Bruxism is a condition that affects about 10% of the total global population. Special oral appliances called mouth guards to prevent this issue and lessen the consequences of bruxism.
A night guard can help persons who grind or clench their teeth at night to prevent damage to their jaws, teeth, and facial muscles. By putting a barrier between teeth, a mouth guard reduces the adverse effects of teeth grinding, including tooth damage, tooth and jaw pain, and headaches.
A mouth guard looks similar to a whitening tray, which dentists give to help patients whiten their teeth at home. These appliances are not made to perform the same purpose, despite their similar appearance.
While night guards help to protect your teeth from bruxism and lessen the strain from grinding, whitening trays carry whitening gels.
Can Night Guard be Used as a Whitening Tray?
You cannot use night guards and teeth whitening trays interchangeably. Using your mouth guard to naturally whiten your teeth is not wise.
Firstly, night guards fit your teeth far more closely than whitening gel. It leaves little to no area for the whitening gel to cover your teeth. On the other hand, molars are not covered by whitening trays since they only cover the visible teeth and not the entire bite area.
Secondly, night guards barely reach a portion of your gum line, which means the whitening gel would only contact a part of your teeth. It would not produce your desired results for teeth whitening at home.
You’ll understand the difference reasonably quickly why a mouth guard won’t whiten your teeth as effectively as a whitening tray by testing wearing both oral appliances. So, it’s always better to follow the instructions in the whitening kit if you want your whitening gel to function correctly and give you the dazzling smile you desire.
Natural Teeth Whitening
Some people use hydrogen peroxide in their mouth guards to naturally whiten teeth at home, which is pretty harmful.
Using a mouth guard for teeth whitening that is not custom-made for your mouth by a dentist is not recommended since hydrogen peroxide could irritate your gums. A problem may also arise with receded gums, and hydrogen peroxide comes in contact with the exposed tooth root surface.
Plus! The quantity of hydrogen peroxide used could also be a problem. The amount of carbamide peroxide recommended as safe and effective for tooth whitening is comparable to the amount of hydrogen peroxide (3.6%). So, it’s never a good idea to use hydrogen peroxide in a mouth guard for whitening teeth.
Get Those Pearly Whites at Garran Dental
Garran Dental offers the highest-quality dental care services in Canberra, Australia. If you want to whiten your teeth, you must visit our clinic, and our experts will do the rest.
Whether you need night or whitening guards, we provide custom-made oral appliances for our patients, helping them achieve their smile goals.
Give Garran Dental a call and book your appointment now.