INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If your dentist recommends using bleaching trays, avoid buying a kit with "one size fits all" trays. These trays are likely to be bigger than your teeth, meaning the bleach will be pressed against your gums, causing sensitivity or irritation. Instead, opt for custom-fitted trays. Your dentist can make these for you, and there are also kits in which you make a mold of your mouth, send it to a lab, and receive custom trays back. Whitening strips are often much larger than your teeth and therefore end up depositing whitening gel onto your gums, causing pain or sensitivity. Before using whitening strips, hold them up to your teeth to determine how well they fit. If necessary, use a sharp pair of scissors to trim off the excess material. If you have sensitive gums, you may want to use a desensitizing gel before a whitening treatment. Ask your dentist for a recommendation, then apply the product as directed. In general, you will spread a light layer of this desensitizing gel over your gums a few minutes before each whitening treatment to protect them from the bleach. After you put in the bleaching trays or apply the whitening strips, use a tissue to wipe off the excess gel from your gums. This prevents the bleach from irritating your gums and protects them from the minor chemical burns that cause discomfort. If necessary, you can reapply the desensitizing gel with a cotton swab if you wiped it off along with the excess whitening gel or bleach. Don't leave the whitening strips on or the bleaching trays in for a longer period of time than the directions suggest, as this can lead to pain or sensitivity. It also will not help get your teeth whiter. Follow the directions carefully, and remove the strips or trays after the recommended amount of time. You can repeat the treatment the following day to whiten your teeth even more, if desired.

SUMMARY: Select custom-fitted trays if applicable. Trim whitening strips to fit your teeth if necessary. Apply a desensitizing gel to your gums before whitening your teeth. Remove excess whitening gel or bleach from your gums. Leave the strips on or trays in for the recommended amount of time only.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you don't feel you can do this alone, ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable to reducing or stopping your news viewing. Having someone to help you adhere to your goals will provide you with a greater chance for success, especially if your obsession has been bugging them or interfering with your relationship. Alert your friends and family to the telltale signs you've been watching too much cable news, such as becoming easily agitated, paranoid, not answering the phone, panicked and restless. Make a point to check in with your family and friends. Don't wait for them to ask you how you are doing. Consider saying something like, "Hey, I wanted to check in with you to let you know how I'm doing with changing my news viewing habit." This will provide a lead in for them to feel comfortable to ask questions. Set a maximum amount of time that won't interfere with other activities. Typically 30 minutes of news can provide you with ample coverage; any more than that and it gets repetitive. Create a schedule of all your daily events. Include news reading, viewing or listening as a small portion of each day, and no more. Setting limitations and tracking your time on a daily schedule or planner will help you hold yourself accountable to your goal. Apply the same rules to internet news. Give yourself a chance to break your news addiction by limiting your online news reading to set times of the day. If you see headlines, don't click to go there unless it's during your allotted time. If you watch more than your allotted amount of news put money into the jar. The money will be given to your friend or family member. Or, it could be donated to a non-profit organization that helps people with addiction. This principle is similar to using a Cuss Jar when trying to stop a family member or yourself from cussing. Instead of cussing, the goal can be news watching. Pick an amount of money to insert into the jar for each violation. You can also get someone to agree to add money to the jar when you go an entire day without watching the news. All the money will go to a good cause. If it is filled with news about the latest sensational terrible event, you will hear the same information from 50 different sources across multiple electronic devices. Weed out the sources that are not at the top of your list. Limit yourself to 1-2 sources. Check in for updates infrequently unless you're actually in the epicenter of an unfolding issue and need real-time help. There are programs that will alert you when you have reached a limit on your viewing time. Also, you can use the program to block sites that are distracting you from your goals. The most effective outcomes result from allowing yourself some freedom to browse certain sites, and then self-determine what you want to block. So pick a time to review the sites you visit regularly and pick your top three. If you free up your time by reducing your news watching, there will be time to do it. If part of the problem is that you have too much time on your hands, try something new.Research indicates that if you have a hobby you will be healthier and less depressed. For example, take a class at the local community college, tackle a project you've had on your "to do" list for years or make a concerted effort to see friends and/or family members more often. Going cold turkey is one possibility, which is a successful technique for many people. Abstaining from seeking news will likely be challenging due to the constant influx of news that fills online, TV and radio channels. Divert your eyes and ears from news sources and focus on your work or an activity. A person can develop an addiction to many things. Abruptly stopping your news viewing is a valid method for recovery, but it has limited success. For example, although smoking is different than excessively watching the news, studies have shown that only 22% of smokers who attempt to quit cold turkey kick the habit.

SUMMARY:
Seek help from family and friends. Schedule a specific amount of time to watch news. Keep a money jar for lapses. Unsubscribe to news-heavy social media sources. Use online commitment devices. Get a new hobby or venture. Turn it off.