The first thing that people notice about you is your smile. That’s why at SportingSmiles we have made it our mission to make teeth whitening accessible to everyone. While home teeth whitening is completely safe, and we sell only the best quality products, some customers still experience issues. The most common issue we hear from our customers about teeth whitening is that their gums burn during the whitening process. Teeth whitening should be quick and easy and certainly shouldn’t involve any discomfort. We take a look at what can make your gums hurt from teeth whitening, and how best to resolve it.
Why Do My Gums Hurt When Whitening My Teeth?
If your gums hurt or burn, or if you see white spots on your gums, this is all caused by the same issue: putting too much whitening gel in the tray. Some custom teeth whitening trays do not come with reservoirs in the front to properly allow room for the expansion of the whitening gel. This and improper trimming during the manufacturing process can cause an overflow of the whitening gel onto your gums. However, SportingSmiles only sells customized whitening trays that are manufactured to the highest standard, including reservoirs. If you experience burning with our trays then it is definitely due to overuse of the whitening gel.
What Can I Do About It?
To make proper use of our whitening kits, put a very small bead of whitening gel on the lower part of the tray. It can range anywhere from .25ml to .6ml depending on the size of your mouth. If you have a smaller mouth, start with a lower amount and work your way up. It will take a little trial and error to see what amount is correct for your mouth size, as you want to ensure that you have proper coverage.
Custom whitening trays, like those we offer at SportingSmiles, help keep the whitening gel where it belongs (on your teeth) and reduces the risk of coming into contact with your gums.
Don’t worry about testing it out until you get the right amount. As long as you clean off your teeth and the trays between tests then you will be fine. Once you have even coverage without any overflow, continue with the instructions provided in the kit. While experimenting with this process, if whitening gel gets on the gums just wipe it off quickly with your finger or using a tissue or Q-tip.
If you see white spots on your gums, do not worry, this is perfectly normal. The spots will typically go away in about an hour or so.
If you find that your gums hurt from teeth whitening, custom whitening trays should be your first step. If you are interested in getting custom whitening trays, please do not hesitate to check out our selection here: SportingSmiles Whitening Trays.
