The Way Whitening Works
A very important factor in what the whitening will do to your teeth is how the whitening agent works. Most whiteners are perfectly safe; however, some of them whiten the tooth by stripping away a small part of the outer enamel.
If the whitener you are using is one that strips away enamel, you should not use it even on perfectly healthy teeth. Doing so will only cause your teeth to eventually suffer irreversible damage.
So, What About Whitening on Decaying Teeth?
If your teeth are decaying, you might want to carefully consider whether you are going to whiten them. Even the safe whitening agents can contain compounds that could cause quite a bit of discomfort under certain circumstances, such as when they come into contact with a tooth that is decaying.
We recommend that you take care of the decaying tooth first, and then consider whitening. If you have any questions about your teeth, please feel free to contact us. We can help you decide whether whitening is the right choice.