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teeth whitening

kittynh

Penultimate Amazing
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Dec 18, 2002
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Pool Boy has offered to get my teeth whitened for a present. I've always had rather yellow teeth, the whole famly kind of has yellow teeth. I just don't know if this really works or not. My denist is a really nice guy, but honestly, it's a lot of money and I've read it can take many treatments until you are happy. I"m not very concerned about my teeth, but it would be nice to have whiter teeth. I once used some in home stuff, and it didn't do much at all. So I kind of gave up. But is this really worth the money?
Anyone go through this?

Happy with the results?

this is the method he uses...



http://www.animated-teeth.com/dentist_laser_whitening/a9_zoom_teeth_whitening.htm
 
I don't know about that, but you might want to try the Crest whitening strips first. Much cheaper. I used them a few years ago (they claim to take of 7 years of yellowing per box, but I don't know how they came to that number). I was pretty happy with the results, but then, my teeth didn't look too bad to start with (I'm still in my 20's, and I don't smoke). But they were definitely whiter.
 
What is this , abrasive, bleaching, dyeing, painting?

Have' em all out and get pink ones to match your gums.
Stealth teeth...
 
One of my dentists wanted me to do something similar. I told her that my teeth were discolored due to iron overdosing from vitamins I took when I was a child. I asked her if this method could make my teeth whiter than they were when they first grew in. After much hemming and hawing, she finally said "probably not". So it seems to me that this method of teeth whitening only fixes discoloration from smoking and drinking tea and coffee.

I mention this because you said that yellow teeth run in your family. If they came in that way, then I would assume that this method would not work for you either.

The other solution that I'm aware of is porcelain veneers. I did a search on the internet and apparently they can last anywhere between 3 - 20 years and cost anywhere between $500 - $2,000 a tooth.
 
Yeah, my teeth are naturally NOT white. I don't smoke and drink tea every now and again. but no real stains. I'd rather have a new laptop. Really.

I mean, I work with three year olds. They would think it cool if I had NO teeth. They love to look at the scar on my arm.
 
The light assisted whitening does work very well but is expensive compared to the other available methods. essentially it is the same as the "tray" method but takes fewer dental appointments (sometimes only one).

The whitening strips do work, but they are a milder bleach and can take longer use to make a difference. The paint on bleaches (sold here under the Colgate brand) are less effective but also do work over time.

I had my teeth whitened using the "tray" method where the dentist takes impressions and makes you a set of molded trays. You then place the whitening gel into the trays and wear them in the evening for 3-4 hours at a time. You need to be able to tolerate wearing the trays but if you could tolerate a mouthgard for sport then you will be fine. You need at least two appointments, one to make the impressions and one to fit the trays.

The result was great, plus I have the custom made trays so when I want to top up the white-ness I just buy some gel. It takes years off your face for very little effort, and my teeth were very yellow to start with. After the treatment they were one off the "white" end of the scale.

Because of my work (I practice law and specialise in the medico-legal combat arena) I got the full on "informed consent" lecture and I am aware that there are side effects. The most common seem to be tooth sensitivity (which usually is temporary) and sore gums (likewise). I have dealt with one case in which the patient experienced loosening of the teeth but that was some years ago and I understand the gels used now are less harsh.

There is plenty of information on the net about the risks.
 
I would try the Crest Whitestrips first, since they're relatively inexpensive. If you get results with this, then you can move onto the more professional methods for better results.

I used Whitestrips before my wedding and again before a family trip, and saw reasonable improvements both times.
 
I tried the store bought ones once, not the strips but the kind where you brush it onto your teeth with a little brush. Maybe I was using it wrong but it didn't do anything. And it cost $15-20 and according to what I've read the improvement isn't nearly as good as you get with a real job at a dentist nor does it last nearly as long.

So I'm thinking that if it costs $500-1,000 at a dentist (and I'm not sure that's what it costs) and if it lasts 10 years (as I think I read once) then it comes out $50-100 per year, which isn't so bad. And you go once or twice and then you're done for 10 years as opposed to fooling with the store bought things every day for a couple weeks once or twice every year. So considering all that I've considered getting it done at the dentist but I haven't seriousoly looked into it.

I think one thing that scares people off is the price becaue it seems so big but if it lasts for 10 years then it's not that much. People fall prey to not realizing that a little money each day adds up to a lot over a long period of time. If you spend $2 on a cup of coffee 5 days a week, that's $10 per week, which is $500 per year, which is $5,000 over 10 years. That's 5 to 10 times as much as the teeth whitening (assuming my numbers on it are right..you get the picture though, one big number sounds worse than a little number added every day).
 
If I can find any of these "strips" locally for not many bananas I'll buy some and do half my mouth. Then if it's any good I can post scary pictures.
 
kittynh said:
Yeah, my teeth are naturally NOT white. I don't smoke and drink tea every now and again. but no real stains. I'd rather have a new laptop. Really.

I mean, I work with three year olds. They would think it cool if I had NO teeth. They love to look at the scar on my arm.
Click to expand...

(I can imagine the steroptypical British dentistry remarks that will follow, but hey I watch Jerry Springer...)

See this a lot on USA make over shows, they seem to consider that teeth should be gleaming white. Whilst obviously stained dirty teeth are not nice and I can understand wanting to clean them it's a fact that many people don't have gleaming white teeth and sometimes pearly-white smiles in these people just makes it look as if they have taken to wearing grandma's spare set of teeth.
 
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I've noticed that too, espeically with people on TV. Some of them have teeth that are way too white and it doesn't look good, it just looks odd.

The problem is that you look at yourself in the mirror every single day and so it's hard to see what other people see when they look at you because you've seen it so many times before.
 
My dentist was telling me that it's a heredity thing. He noticed that ppl with, say, Scandinavian backgrounds are more likely to have blue-white teeth, whereas those with say, Scottish backgrounds, were more likely to have creamier teeth. I think it's one of those things that just goes with your natural colouration, to an extent.
 
kittynh said:
Yeah, my teeth are naturally NOT white. I don't smoke and drink tea every now and again. but no real stains. I'd rather have a new laptop. Really.
Click to expand...

That must e why some whitening toothpastes use titanium dioxide instead of a "real" whitening compound.

Regardless, I've been using various whitening toothpastes for a few years now and some ladies have complimented me on my teeth improving, so I know it can work :-)
 
my personal experience

I'm a smoker myself, so needless to say I tend to notice that smoking does mess with the good bright smile thing.

Tried a couple different kinds of whitening strips, but nothing worked better for me then getting a tube of Rembrandt intense whitening toothpaste. Seriousally, that junk worked wonders after a month of regular use.
 
I've read that all teeth have a yellow centre and it depends how thick the enamel coating is. If it's thin the teeth will appear to be yellow. I think teeth whitening would only work if the enamel has become discoloured. it sounds like a rip off to me
 
I found an interesting web site from the ADHA on tooth whitening.
http://www.adha.org/downloads/sup_whitening.pdf

Max, you may want to take a look at page 7 whch lists different type of teeth stains.

The ADA has information on it also. http://www.ada.org/public/topics/whitening_faq.asp
Kitty, you might want to ask your dentist about this:
"No whitening products using lasers are currently on the ADA list of accepted products."
(ETA: don't know if the Zoom! bleaching light is considered a laser light... but suppose it can't hurt to ask if its on the ADA list of approved products.)

I'm glad you brought up this topic! After reading through the ADHA web site, I'm reconsidering tooth whitening for myself. It might be possible that stains due to iron overdosing can be lightened after all. So... thanks!:)

BTW, I'm a little surprised that there are no dentists among the JREF posters?! Or at least none commenting on this.

edited to fix links -- the link tag did not work for me...
 
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