What do you know about teeth whitening? Bad or not?

What kind of stuff dentists use to white out our teeth? Can it be bad for teeth or it's totally safe?
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Although I don't know a lot about this subject, I do know some. First of all, dentists have a variety of techniques, most commonly including a strong version of bleach. A newer technique is laser whitening and the like. To my knowledge, any of the off the counter products by reputable manufacturers (like Crest/Colgate), are legitimate and do have some effect. It won't be really significant, but they do help and have gotten better of the years. They appear to be fairly safe. The best way to whiten teeth is to have a reputable/honest dentist probably use the whitening formula. However, As a note of caution, I would not advise going to a whitening place that you may see in the mall or any of those places where an actual dentist is not present. You may have seen these places, and basically all they do is whiten teeth. The problem with places that only whiten teeth is that they often do not have any dentist present and many of those stores have gotten in trouble with the American dental association. The reason is because they are doing work on your teeth and there isn't even a dentist or a professional present. It is not safe to do it that way. You may be familiar with NPR, a public news radio program, that is broadcast throughout the nation. Here are a couple of links to help with what they said. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story… http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story… Bottom line: if you really need to whiten your teeth, just buy an off the counter one for like $45 or go to a reputable dentist that has done many of these procedures and look up reviews. It's not cheap if a dentist does it (anywhere from around $250 to $1200, with maybe $500 average). Also, for the future to prevent your teeth from staining, avoid drinking sugar sodas, sugar gum, and coffee/tea. Of course, coffee/tea is normal to drink, so when you drink it, just rinse out your mouth afterwards. If you don't, the liquid stays in your mouth and can stain. If you want to chew gum, chew sugarless gum. Of course, regular brushing and flossing is important. Good luck.
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