I recently read an advertisement about a Tanda Pearl Ionic Teeth Whitening System. It said I could whiten my teeth in just 5 minutes a day. I like that idea because the system I am using now aches my jaw and is aggravating my TMJ Disorder. Do you know if the advertisements about this system are accurate?
Laurie
Dear Laurie,
I am glad you wrote because I think I can help you. I looked up this system. It functions on the basic system that other professional teeth whitening systems use. It uses a peroxide gel that is placed in a bleaching tray. In that aspect it is fine. However, there are some differences you need to be aware of that could cause some issues.
First, the tray. This system uses just one tray that you bite down to form to your teeth. Here are my concerns about that. When you have trays made by a dentist, they are form-fitted to your specific bite. This keeps the gel from leaking out and saliva from leaking into the tray. Both of those things weaken the effectiveness of the teeth whitening. This means you will have to get more whitening gel than you normally would in order to get the same results.
However, there is another difference with the tray that will be a bigger problem for you. Custom-fitted trays can be worn anywhere and are more comfortable than most. With the Tanda Pearl System, there are not really trays as much as a single tray you have to bite down on the entire time to keep it in place. Even for just five minutes, that is going to cause serious problems with your TMJ Disorder. Because of that, I would not recommend this system for you.
You did not mention what you were currently using, but if it isn’t a system through your dentist, that may be why you are experiencing the aching. Talk to your dentist about what is going on and have him make you trays that won’t ache your jaw when you wear them.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.