OT, Whiter teeth!

[Nutt]

O.K. so I was reading a random thread in some other forum when I though, why not! My teeth aren’t bad, but hey, I’m a brit so there not perfect [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

The options seem to be (other than traditional whitening toothpaste, which isn’t a lot of good)

Crest whitestrips ( http://www.whitestrips.com/index_home.html )
little strips which you stick on your teeth for 30 minutes twice daily, come in at about $40 for the professional version, which is three weeks of treatment, and is meant to give three or so \'shades\' ( as on a colour chart, although no idea what that translates to in real life!)

Bleaching gel,
a solution of 16% to up to 22% of Carbamide Peroxide, depending on who you buy from, and a mouthpiece which is heated and moulds to the shape of your gob. The paste goes in and bleaches the teeth. Cost wise, it seems to vary from $7.99 to $45. They claim to be the same as many dentists use, but the price point makes me sceptical. Check out flea-bay.


Apparently the professional treatments are either as the bleaching gel one, perhaps with stronger gel (they claim its the same, I’m sceptical) or faster =, more effective, and much pricier laser treatment.

Anybody here use any of these, or even a professional treatment? What do you guys think.


BTW, I already use a sonicare brush, its great, feels very fresh after using it, but no matter how good they are some stains take more to get off, My teeth are still slightly stained in places, after 6 mouths of use, and I dont even smoke or drink tea / coffee :-)

[Andy]

I still think bleaching teeth is work for pros. Messing around yourself might be dangerous for your teeth. I don\'t know the english word right now, but the layer on the teeth might take damage, exposing your sensitiv teeth. I\'d let a dentist do the job it will be quick and you know everything is ok afterwards.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I\'d recommend going to your dentist. The dentist\'s kits are kind of a ripoff (it really probably IS the same stuff in the cheaper kits) but the dentist can identify any issues with fillings, crowns, etc. This is really important because the bleach won\'t change the color of most dental work -- and you can end up looking like a good with white teeth and yellow crowns and fillings.

That said -- I did it, and the dentist made custom trays for my teeth. The bleaching did wonders. I actually had a complete stranger -- a guy, no less -- ask about my teeth while I was waiting in a cab line about a month after the treatment.

Chicks dig white teeth.

[PHP 87]

I don\'t smoke or drink coffee, so my teeth aren\'t too discolored, but I\'d still like to whiten them some.

I\'m gonna go with the White Strips.

Plenty can be found on Ebay below retail prices.

[Nutt]

I think the crest is the more foolproof of the two, but the beeching systems do seem to promise better results, cheaper. the chemicals do seem a little hasher however.

Personaly, I have no dental work, but I agree with what one poster said about possible damage to the tooth enamel. I think im gonna try to do a little more research on the chemical\'s used. Ill post any findings.

dunno when my next dentists appointment is, might have a look and ask him if its soon ish, although i\'d probably use one of these DIY \'pro\' kits if he said the chemicals are fairly enamal safe.

intresting point is the crest strips use a slightly diffrent ( less harsh one would assume) chemical.


edit: LoL , my god it can make your teeth explode!!! ( erm, unlikely in practise methinks though! [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] )

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/CA/carbamide_peroxide.html

this study seems to cite a slight increase in enemel microhardness, ( although only about 1 % after 8 hours for two weeks) It also comments on possible toxcicity and the fromation of free radicals. dont think its quite enough to put me off, but its intresting. http://www.forp.usp.br/bdj/t0272.html

[jose]

I\'ve tried the whitestrips and I feel they\'re better than anything out there right now. You use it for 2 weeks, 4 strips a day for 30 minutes(each strip is for upper and lower teeth) and you have white teeth for at least three months. I noticed a difference after one week of using it, the good thing about it is no one knows you have it on.

[Xehupatl]

Nutt,

I can promise you if you ask your dentist if those commercial products are safe, he isn\'t gonna say \"hell yeah they\'re safe, don\'t bother spending your money on my treatment when I can\'t provide you with better quality than those amateur products; sure, buy it!\"

no he\'s gonna say: \"NO, don\'t, it\'s dangerous, only let your dentist perform that kind of procedure!\"

think about it; is he going to recommend those products even if they work, when he could earn alot of money by doing it himself?

food for thought
LOL

Stefan

[Nutt]

agreed, from everything I checked on the net there pretty safe, if you want to be extra careful stick to the 16% versions that dont stay in for more than 4 hours.

Worst problems are inconsistant staining if you have dental work ( none here! one white filling near the back) and some possibility of sensitivity for a couple of weeks. Ive just ordered a cheap kit from e-bay, I\'llprobably rember to post results :-) , if that goes well, but aint white enough, I might even get a proffesional mouthpiece made localy and try the \'harder\' stuff [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Opalescence seems to be the best brand, its alos more costly. I went for a cheap, but PH balanced kit ( less likely to damage enamel from Bright \'n Natural , called dental bleaching whitning kit by galevin on flea-bay. only one brand I could find in the UK, and this was half the price, im in no rush so I dont mind waiting for delivery from the US..

[**DONOTDELETE**]

if you dont smoke, and brush your teeth after you eat, you really wont need these pointless products. But if you want perfection than the strips sound the best idea

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Whiter teeth are an indicator of youth/health...I spent 400.00 on a custom bleaching tray you wear at night and could see significant whitening after just one night but had a lot of trouble with sensitivity, I toughed it out, wore the kit every other night, and within a week had teeth at A1, the lightest warm color on the chart. Now once I week I wear the trays to bed, for maintenance, and it\'s fine.If you have stain collected in certain places, go to your dental hygenist and have her clean the stain off and polish your teeth - that may be all you really need. The bleaching kits, even the professional ones, will still leave stains where they\'ve collected although they brighten the rest of the tooth.I don\'t see why the otc products wouldn\'t work as well, especially the ones with the trays you heat and mold to your own mouth. The strips would work on the surface of the tooth but sometimes stain is between the teeth and you\'d need a gel to bleach that out.But any effort in this regard will produce some results, so is worthwhile.

[SwingerMD]

I also had a problem with sensitivity using a Rembrant bleaching kit. My dentist recomended Sensodyne to get rid of the sensitivity (higher concentrations of fluroide). Anyhow to keep my teeth as white and stain free as possible, I use a electric toothbrush. Since I have started, my dentist has been amazed on how clean my teeth are.

FullTiltRedhead, welcome to the forum! It\'s great having a very active female member. Oh and one more thing . . . would you care to dance? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[SwingerMD]

Bump.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Sure, love to, as long as you\'ll lead.

[SwingerMD]

Cool [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]. No problemo! (Besides, I don\'t know how to follow.) Know anything about the swing scene in D.C.?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

um...
are we stil talking about dancing?

[SwingerMD]

Yes . . . . Are you? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Oh! Yes.

I don\'t know a thing about the swing scene in D.C.

Unfortunately.

I\'m sure there is one...

[tallmacky]

Have you thought about a complete solution, such as sonic toothbrush\'s. I own one and my teeth are painfully white and extremely clean this thing is great to say the least. When I used to brush with my old normal toothbrush it seemed as if it was not complete but this thing takes everything off your teeth.

P.S. if you want a picture of my mouth I can send it. lol

[Nutt]

As I was surfing and it got bumped....

In the end I picked a cheap thermoform kit with bulk gel from ebay ( Bright n natural I belive) and it worked pretty well, occasional sensitivity but nothing the odd brush with sensitive paste during the weeks I used it dident fix.

If I was going to buy another kit I would recomend the type that send you a mould you bite into and send off to recive a better made, custom mouthpiece, the thermoform ones are not a great fit ( even with plenty of playing) and more of the gel gets into your mouth rather than stays in contact with the teeth that way.

and yes, sonic brushes rule, had one for about 6 months before I considered whitning , although i hear the oral B 3D one is cheaper and just as good as the sonicare or similar brands. I cant say Im disapointed with the sonicare I own though even if it was expensive ( works like new after a year, but the replacement brushes are\'nt cheap, not too bad though. )