Getting whiter teeth requires removing all of the causes of discoloration and staining on your teeth. Because teeth get discolored for many reasons, you need to use a whitening product that works on all of the problems that are causing your teeth to be less than fully white and shiny. Good tooth whitening products are able to do this by getting both the internal and external tooth stains.

There are two major ways in which teeth get discolored. The first is through external, or superficial staining. Over the years, the enamel on teeth becomes more porous and gets the chance to be inflicted with more cracks and nicks. All of these recessed areas can accumulate debris and other materials in order to become stained. Because these recessed areas are not easily accessible to toothbrushes and other regular cleaners, the debris tends to remain in these areas even after normal cleaning procedures. Over the years, the debris can start to make teeth look much darker and dingier. This is especially true if you drink a lot of coffee, tea, or wine or you are a smoker. Even many common foods cause staining of the teeth and some of them are healthy foods that you wouldn't want to cut out of your diet. While regular dental care will take care of some of these stains, the only way to fully eliminate these is through teeth whitening.

The other way in which teeth get discolored is through intrinsic staining. This is more of a product of aging and of gradual tooth damage than of dietary or other habits. Trauma to the teeth can cause discoloration, as can excessive exposure to certain minerals and to flouride. If you use a special flouride-based toothpaste in order to prevent cavities or your tap water is heavily flouridated, you might find that your teeth sustain a large amount of this intrinsic staining. Because these types of stains are deeper down in the teeth, superficial teeth cleaners will not take care of them. The only way to remove these stains is through teeth bleaching, which is able to penetrate deep into the teeth and remove the intrinsic stains.

When you decide to whiten your teeth, you will have to choose between a huge array of home based products or going to a professional. The professional visit is almost always guaranteed to have good results, but you will definitely leave the visit with a much lighter wallet. This is why the majority of people choose to use home tooth whiteners.

If your teeth primarily have extrinsic stains, such as those from coffee and food, most whiteners will work for you. Any abrasive substance will help to remove these stains, as will teeth bleaches and other whiteners. However, it is rare for teeth to only have extrinsic staining and you likely have a high degree of intrinsic staining as well. For this reason, it is recommended that you use a tooth bleaching product that is designed to deal with both types of stains.

WhiteningNow.com has a good teeth whitener that can remove all of the stains from your teeth and leave them up to 10 shades lighter. This is about the same amount of whitening that you can expect from a dentist visit, but at a much lower cost. The Bright Teeth whitening kit actually is available through a free trial offer right now, so, if you want to see how it would work for you, this is the perfect time.