I have TMJ disorder and am wanting to whiten my teeth. I have a friend who also has TMJ and when she went to have her teeth whitening it really aggravated her TMJ problems. I believe she used Zoom Whitening. I’ve been looking for an alternative to that and came across the Tanda Pearl System. It says that I can whiten my teeth in just 5 minutes a day. That sounds like it would be easier on my jaw, right?
Andrew
Dear Andrew,
Custom Teeth Bleaching Trays
I’m very glad that you wrote before getting this kit. While it does have a legitimate whitening ingredient, it has a few things working against it, one of which will actually make your TMJ pain worse.
The ionic technology does not look legitimate to me and I suspect it is just there for psychological reasons. That bugs me but is not a deal breaker. The thing I am the most concerned about is their whitening tray. Notice that I said tray, singular. When you get professional teeth whitening done with a dentist, you should have custom trays made that fits specifically with both arches of your teeth. One tray for the top. One tray for the bottom.
With Tanda Pearl, you get a single tray which is supposed to cover both the top and bottom teeth at the same time. Sounds nice on the surface, but in order to keep it in, you will have to bite down on it the entire time. Even for just five minutes, that will cause you some additional jaw pain.
But, let’s say for argument’s sake that they were able to make it to where you did not have to bite down. They are still not going to be custom fit. That ends up costing you both time and money. This is because the gaps will allow your whitening gel to leak out and your saliva to encroach into the trays.
When your saliva can get into the trays, it weakens the whitening effect of the gel by diluting it. When the gel leaks from your trays, not only does that also give you less whitening, but it exposes your gums to the gel, which can cause irritation.
My suggestion is that you have professional teeth whitening done through your dentist. They can give you trays that will protect the gel as well as your mouth.
With regard to the 5 minutes which Tanda Pearl touts, with at-home whitening, you are in control of the length of time you wear the trays. The more they are on your teeth, the faster you will whiten. But, you are not required to keep them in for any length of time. Wear them for the length that is most comfortable for you.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.