I have been doing teeth whitening and my dentist has me wearing the trays overnight. This has been aggravating my TMJ Disorder. I recently read about something called the Tanda Pearl Ionic Teeth Whitening system. It says that you only have to wear the trays for five minutes a day. I think that would be a lot easier on my jaw. However, if it works that fast, I wonder it is safe. Do you know much about this system?
Carolyn
Dear Carolyn,
I’m glad you wrote. The whitening gel they use appears safe and will eventually whiten your teeth. However, there are some things to consider. If your main reason for using the Tanda Pearl is to help with the TMJ issues, I don’t think you are going to get the relief you want from that.
The biggest problem I see with the treatment is the trays they have you use. The trays your dentist provided you with are separate, one for each arch of your mouth. The Tanda Pearl has a homemade tray that you form to your bite by biting down on it. There is only one tray, though. This means that you have to bite down on it the entire time you are using the tray. Even though it is only for five minutes, this will hurt your jaw significantly more than the trays you’re wearing.
Another issue these trays have is that there will be no way to keep your saliva all the way out or the teeth whitening gel in place. This makes it less effective and you will have to use much more of it to get the same whitening results.
The best solution for you is to simply wear your whitening trays for less time each day. There is nothing magical about wearing the trays overnight. It just makes the whitening faster. You can still whiten your teeth, it will just take a little longer.
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