One option when it comes to whitening teeth at home is a bleaching pen. A bleaching pen is similar in design to a laundry stain treating pen. It's a hollow container filled with a whitening gel that is peroxide based. You can use the tip of the pen to apply the whitening mixture to your teeth. There are some advantages and disadvantages to using a bleaching pen to whiten your teeth.

Advantages of Using a Bleaching Pen to Whiten Teeth

The biggest advantage of using a bleaching pen is that you get excellent control of where you place the whitening gel. If you only want to whiten a couple of teeth you can easily do that with the pen. Or, if you have teeth that have deep stains and need more coverage than strips or other types of whiteners have the bleaching pen is a good choice. Bleaching pens are also usually fairly inexpensive, which is good for people who want to whiten their teeth without shelling out for expensive trays and strips. A bleaching pen is easy to apply anywhere and you can put the pen into a pocket or purse and take it with you for quick whitening.

Disadvantages of Using a Bleaching Pen to Whiten Teeth

There are some significant disadvantages that come with using a bleaching pen as well. Applying the whitening gel on some teeth can be difficult because of the shape of the applicator, leaving your teeth unevenly white. The whitening gel in the pen also usually takes at least 30 minutes to work. During that time you can't eat, drink, or even talk very much. If you do the gel will become loose and won't whiten your teeth. So unless you have at least half an hour to sit and do nothing a bleaching pen won't be as effective as other types of whitening products. Also, the peroxide -based whitening gel used in bleaching pens isn't very effective when it comes to whitening teeth. Studies have shown that the gel only whitens teeth a little bit, about as much as a whitening toothpaste.