Can I give my free teeth whitening to my husband?

My new dentist gives patients free teeth whitening after their second dental cleaning appointment. I don’t want to bleach my teeth because I have crowns on 2 teeth and I don’t want my own teeth to be whiter than the crowns. I can’t use the whitening and the office doesn’t do substitutions for other services. My husband is interested in whitening his teeth and he doesn’t have any crowns or anything to worry about. The lady at the front desk at the dentist’s office was hesitant when I mentioned that I would just give the kit to my husband, and then she told me that the kits are only for active patients of my dentist. Is there any reason why he shouldn’t use it or were they just trying to keep the kit and save money because I can’t use it? Thanks Gemma

Gemma,

Even if the teeth whitening kit is free, a professional kit from a dentist is customized for each patient. Bleaching trays are made based on impressions of your teeth to ensure they fit well and provide the best results. It sounds like your husband isn’t a patient at your dentist’s office. Otherwise, he would eventually receive a free whitening kit of his own.

The kit would be incomplete without customized trays for your husband. This puts him at risk for getting not enough—or too much—bleaching gel on his teeth and gums. Store-bought bleaching trays are not a reliable and effective way to put the bleaching gel in contact with his teeth.

Before teeth whitening is completed, an examination is needed to determine if bleaching will help or harm your husband’s teeth. In some cases, the gel will make stains on teeth more noticeable. If your husband is a candidate for whitening, he should have a professional dental cleaning first. This will make the whitening treatments more effective. Still, he needs professional whitening trays.

As a suggestion, your husband can ask his dentist about whether or not free teeth whitening is available, or how it can be made affordable for him. Many dentists are willing to work with patients to make a bright smile affordable.

This post is sponsored by Plano female dentist Dr. Miranda Lacy.