What's the Deal With Teeth Whitening Kiosks?

I'm sure by now everyone has seen or possibly even tried the teeth whitening kiosks that are being set up at malls, Costco, there was even a booth set up at my gym the other night. The people working in these kiosks dress in white coats and try and act as a dental expert, but these people are not dentists or dental experts, nor are the even in the dental profession at all. So what is the real story with these kiosks?

These booths are allowed to exist because they don't touch you. The clients place the materials in the mouth themselves. The treatment is classified as "cosmetic" rather than "dental". So they are basically getting by on a technicality.

While it may seem that dentists would of course be against this on principle mostly to protect their own business, there can be serious concerns with non-dental professionals performing dental treatment. To start, unrecognized crowns or existing fillings will not whiten, causing results (if any) to have a negative effect on the appearance of your teeth. But more importantly undiagnosed gum disease, cavities, and worn enamel can become very sensitive and painful with the application of bleaching gel. The people working these booths have no training and are unable to recognize these potentially harmful situations.

For the most part bleaching gel is bleaching gel. The only difference is in the concentration of bleaching agent in the gel. There are basically two factors that will affect how white your teeth get: bleaching agent concentration and time. The longer amount of time spent bleaching, the greater the effects. Same goes for the concentration of the bleaching agent. In my practice the most predictable results I get with any type of whitening are to use custom fitted trays with at-home bleach. This allows the patient to use the bleach for an appropriate amount of time. Even lower bleach concentrations will still achieve great results if allowed enough time to work.

These kiosks claim that all you need is 20 minutes to achieve results. The fact is, it is just not possible. Oh yeah, the special light that is used (it is also used in dental offices, by the way) does absolutely no good. There is plenty of research to back up that point, but for all practical purposes, the light is only a marketing ploy. Any immediate results will very quickly fade.

At Whalen Dentistry we use a technique that differs a little in application and strength but gives much more predictable results.

But at least for now it seems that the days of these kiosks may be coming to an end. Recently Tennessee has passed a law banning these businesses. The new law states that only dental professionals will have the ability to prescribe the whitening agents and the application must be overseen by a licensed dentist. It seems that talks to end the practice here in North Carolina are also underway. I would expect the trend to continue throughout the country.