If you are looking for teeth whitening in Wheathampstead, you may have been reading and viewing a lot of material on the subject, both online and offline.

All too often you may encounter accounts of ‘hacks’ that promise teeth whitening success without having to pay for any cosmetic treatment at the hands of an expert. 

However, it is important to be aware that there are all sorts of ideas out there that are actually dangerous for your teeth and can easily cause significant damage.

Whitening of any sort is not without some risk of harm, such as sensitivity in the gums, but this is usually the result of unqualified staff carrying out the process and making mistakes like not having tight enough gumshields in place. Indeed, this is another reason to let proper dentists do the job: DIY whitening, even with safer methods, can be ineffective and produce unpleasant side-effects.

By contrast, there are all manner of problems some dubious methods pose. Writing for The Sun Newspaper last year, dentist Dr Khaled Kasem said most of these hacks are “complete fads”.

He warned: “Not only are some of them dangerous to your health but they also don’t contain the ingredients to remove any deep-set stains that are causing your teeth to yellow in appearance.” 

Dr Kasem listed a number of examples. There is purple shampoo, which is harmful if ingested. Lemon juice is a commonly advocated hack but is acidic and thus likely to damage the enamel. Turmeric is at best ineffective and can actually add to staining. Coconut oil is fairly benign but has no lasting beneficial effect.

What this means is that you need to forget what social media influencers and Facebook posts say. Speak to the experts and get your whitening done by those who know what substances to use and how to apply them safely.