Composition and methods which include a dental bleaching agent and potassium nitrate for enhanced whitening and reduced tooth sensitivity. The potassium nitrate both enhances the whiteness of teeth beyond the whitening effect of the dental agent and reduces or eliminates tooth sensitivity that would otherwise be caused by the bleaching agent. For prolonged treatment of teeth, lower quantities of potassium nitrate (e.g., 0.5 %) have actually been found to work better than larger quantities (e.g., 3 %). The dental compositions (40) may be applied directly to the person's teeth, or they may be loaded into a comfortable fitting, flexible, thin-walled dental tray (50) and placed over the person's teeth. In that case, the dental compositions (40) will include a tackifying agent, such as carboxypolymethylene, which assists the composition in retaining the dental tray (50) over the person's teeth as a result of the adhesive properties of the dental composition (40) rather than due to mechanical interlocking of the tray (50) over the person's teeth. The dental compositions may further include anticariogenic and antimicrobial agents.
