My sister in law tends to behave like she knows everything. It can get a little annoying. Recently I told her I’d been using a whitening toothpaste. She insists it will damage my teeth. Normally, I’d blow off her know-it-all comments, but in this case I worry she may know something I don’t. She’s a dental hygienist. Is she right? Will they damage my teeth?
Jenna T. – Virginia
Jenna,
I’m sorry you have a tense relationship with your sister-in-law. Families can be challenging. Sometimes they annoy us without us even understanding why. The fact is, your gut assumption was right. Your sister-in-law had some extra information.
Most whitening toothpastes have an abrasive ingredient. While they are effective at removing surface stains, they have two downsides.
- They only remove surface stains. Most teeth stains are beneath the surface. You’ll need professional teeth whitening to truly get all those stains. I don’t know your age, but whatever it is you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out how much younger that one simple cosmetic procedure makes us look. Professional level teeth whitening takes years off our smiles.
- It sabotages your efforts. That abrasive ingredient, while it may scrape off those surface stains, it also etches into your healthy enamel. This has the unfortunate side-effect of causing your feet to pick up more stains. It’s a vicious cycle: Your teeth get stained, you brush with whitening toothpaste, the stains come off, but etch your teeth, which causes them to pick up more stains.
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