All forms of teeth whitening treatments will, at some point, require touch-up maintenance.
It is a fact. Over time the lightening effects produced by any and all types of teeth whitening treatments will diminish. Of course the advantage of choosing an at-home bleaching system like tray-based whitening (as opposed to professional treatments performed in your dentist in their office) is that you can perform touch-up treatments on your own, at whatever interval (semi-yearly, yearly) that you find necessary.
Where can you obtain the whitener you will need for your touch-up whitening treatments?
Since the degree of color relapse that needs to be corrected is just minor, touch-up work can usually be accomplished in just a few or at most just one or two week's worth of treatments. In most cases you'll probably find that your dentist will be happy to sell you additional amounts of whitener on a per-syringe basis (as opposed to having to purchase a whole new whitening kit).
If not, ask them for their advice about the many brands of over-the-counter touch-up kit products that are sold in your local stores. In some instances the products that are sold over-the-counter are essentially identical to those products dispensed by dentists in their offices (both in brand and whitener type and concentration).
Look for those same brands of whiteners that your dentist dispenses.
There are a number of brands of whitening gels that are sold directly to dentists for use with their patients. The following list contains the names of some of these brands that do package their product in a "touch-up kit" format.
Nupro White Take Home, Discus Dental NightWhite, Discus Dental DayWhite, Zoom! Weekender, Natural Elegance Plus, Venus White, Life-Like Cosmetic Solutions, Omni White & Brite, Perfecta Bravo, Perfecta Rev, Pola Day, Pola Night, Star White, Opalescence PF
[ Source: Dentistry Today. Guide to At-Home Whitening Systems. December 2008. ]
Ask your dentist if they can supply you with whitener first. But if they are unable to accommodate your needs, it is likely that you can find some of these brands on the shelves of your local store or else online.
Teeth whitening toothpaste isn't as effective as you might think.
Some tray-based teeth whitening kits include whitening toothpaste. The instructions that come with these kits imply that continued use of the toothpaste (after your original series of whitening treatments have been completed) helps to minimize the amount of color relapse that takes place.
Don't be fooled. Including a whitening toothpaste in a tray whitening kit is really nothing more than a marketing gimmick. It is an attempt by a manufacturer to create the illusion that selecting and using their product can create enhanced or prolonged bleaching results.
In reality, the ability of a toothpaste to create a tooth whitening effect (especially one on par with a technique such as tray-based teeth whitening) is infinitesimal. The reason for this is two fold. One is due to the fact that the amount of active ingredient found in any toothpaste will be substantially lower than that concentration found in a whitening gel. Additionally, the total amount of exposure time that toothpaste is in a user's mouth and in contact with their teeth is so short that the creation of a true internal whitening effect is essentially nil.
