What Are Good Whitening/bleaching Products To Use With Invisalign?

Teeth whitening can definitely be accomplished using your Invisalign trays.  You can get the bleach in different concentrations of peroxide.  The 22% concentration is the best if you do not have sensitivity with your teeth in general.  If you will wear them for 5-7 days for approximately one hour each session you will get a great result.  Good luck.

NOT A GOOD IDEA!  Invisalign is a great orthodontic process that uses thin, clear, retainers to move the teeth.  It is a 24/7 procedure for many months.  Whitening is a short term procedure.  Overuse of these gels can potentially cause damage to the tooth and will probably cause a substantial sensitivity problem.  Although most dentist supplied whitening gels are safe to use in the aligners, the temptation to overuse them is great.

When our patients come to the end of their Invisalign treatment, we will often provide a complimentary  whitening gel supply to use during the last two weeks of treatment with their final aligner.  The patient gets a great looking and bright smile and the office prevents overuse of the whitening product.

Try Liquid Smile with your whitening trays. I use it 2 times a week-It can whiten, maintain whitening, keeps bacteria in check and helps your breathe. Other whitening products work as well.

You really dont have to look too far to find a product that will work.  Some are available at your local pharmacy and others you can get from your dentist.  There are also some teeth whitening companies online that make whitening products that deliver results as good as many of the professional products you can get from your dentist.  Nitewhite is good and will provide great results.  The Best product depends on what exactly is most important to you....cost vs. speed of whitening vs. sensitivity issues vs. ease of use, etc.

The lower percentage gels can be used for longer periods of time safely.  If you are planning on using a higher percentage bleaching gel, I would recommend using it for a smaller amount of time and not leaving it in over night.  Some products are only designed to be used for an hour or so at a time. 

The biggest issue that causes bleaching to become problematic is the gel touching the gums and "burning" them.  The lower percentage products are less likely to do this and cause sensitivity.  It is very unlikely that you would damage your teeth using whitening products, unless you used them everyday for extended periods of time.

All the Best.

Any of the syringe type bleach products you can purchase from the dental office (often called touch up kits) will suffice.  Depending  if you have temperature sensitive teeth, you may want to go with a lower percentage bleach (10%) and bleach for about 1-2 weeks.  A higher percentage bleach (22%) is good for getting bleach results faster.  Some kits do come with an additional fluoride gel you can place in your trays after bleaching to help cut down sensitivity.  Hope this helps!

Whitening with Invisalign can be difficult.  Normal Whitening trays are fabricated to the exact fitting of the teeth therefore, bleach trays are not able to be used since the Invisalign is moving your teeth.  You need to ask your orthodontist whether the type of Invisalign trays you are using can work with a whitening agent or not.  You do have the option of having an in office Power Bleach which takes about an hour.  It is more costly but no take home whitening products are required. 

Invisalign aligners can be used for bleaching, however, it would be better to wait until completion if there are many attachments as those areas will not bleach well.  Also the aligners are not as tight as normal bleaching trays and don't cover the teeth fully many times near the tissue so these areas would also be ineffectively bleached.  Once Invisalign is completed, a tight fitting bleaching tray can get the job done better and there are many products ranching from 10% to 35% bleaching component which could be recommended depending on the depth of bleach or speed of bleach or exposure of roots requiring protection.  Your dentist can advise you what is best for your situation

It sounds like you have been researching how to do home teeth whitening. Whitening your teeth is still one of the most dramatic things you can do to improve your smile.

I find the way to get the best results relies less on a particular brand (although I use and recommend Nite White myself). The real key to getting good results with whitening is to have a good assessment. The key to results with teeth whitening is mostly about customizing the process to you.

Some people are prone to gum recession or general teeth sensitivity- whitening will make that worse. Some minor brand name whitening agents will make it even worse.

Some people need to de-sensitize their teeth before they try to whiten.

Same people have other bonding or dental crowns which may not whiten-this can leave an unexpected mismatch in the color of your smile.

Visit a cosmetic dentist who does a lot of whitening and discuss all of this before you start, then you'll get great results!

Dentists use many different companies for their whitening needs.  All of them are pretty similar including Nitewhite, which we use in our office and all can give you a great result.  The higher percentage that you find can increase the speed and effectiveness of the whitening, but also has been shown to increase sensitivity, so if you can handle 22% without sensitivity, then go for it.  I also have found that the products from the office are much better than anything you can get in a store and to buy a tube of whitening gel doesn't cost much.  Also keep in mind that with Invisalign, there are often attachments that cover part of the tooth, so these areas that are covered may not whiten like the rest of the tooth and when the attachments are removed there can be a slight change in shade where the attachment was placed.  Make it a great day!

Blaine McLaughlin DDS

In situations when patients undergo Invisalign treatment they should consult with their orthodontist, or dentist who prescribed Invisalign. But whitening the teeth with Invisalign is NOT a good idea and is not recommended due to a number of reason. It can damage the attachment of Invisalign "bracket" if you have them. It can damage the sift tissue. And the time during whitening period when the patient has different tray can cause a relapse of all orthodontic movement. You should wait till the end of Invisalign treatment in order to achieve stable safe whitening result.