Teeth whitening, any advice?

[Luckyeshe]

I''m looking into doing something simple like the Crest White Strips. I''ve also seen one for Rembrandt but I haven''t really seen it much in stores. Does anyone have any advice as to which once to try? I know I can go in to see my dentist and discuss this with him as well. I won''t be seeing him til April though and I''ld like to work on this sooner than later. If any PSers did try one of the teeth whitening products, what was it? Were you satisfied with the results? How long til you saw a difference? Is it a big difference? How long did it last and did you have to do the teeth whitening again? TIA!!

 

[asscherisme]

I have tried a few different types and my favorite is the CREST advanced seal. Hands down my favorite. Easy to use, does not slip, and whitens really well.

My kids noticed and I have gotten compliments on how white my teeth look. When I do an at home type kit, I notice around 5 or 6 months they start to dull again. I do them around every 9 months.

My dentist has given his approval and says they are safe.

edited to add, the older crest strips were difficult to use because they slid around. Esp the bottom strips. The advanced seal ones stay put and are a bit longer.

I actually just bought another kit ready to use before summer.

 

[yssie]

I've had really good luck with Rembrandt's 2-hour whitening kits - they're around $20.


Those strip thingies never stay on

ETA: I thought stronger concentrations of carbamide would bleach more... they don't, they just burn your gums faster. I'd stick to the shelf stuff! Rembrandt uses hydrogen peroxide, which breaks down faster, so you don't need to leave it in your mouth for so long, which is nice.

 

[Phoenix]

I'm watching this thread with great interest, 'cos I've tried everyhing - professional whitening at the dentist's, home kit etc - and my teeth have stayed more or less the same shade!!

Thanks for starting this, Lucky.

 

[trillionaire]

good topic! I def want to do this before FI and I get married... and I plan to have him do it too. I could see getting him to do the 2 hr thing, but something over several days might be harder...

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''ve had good luck with the rembrant and aquafresh tray systems. I do them maybe once a year and then I brush morning/night with crest vivid white, which IMO is the best whitening toothpaste available at the grocery store.

 

[ArtistJess]

I was an avid user of the whitestrips.. use them about ever 9 months or so. I just recently acquired a sample pack of the whitestrips advanced seal. I will probably never go back to the regular whitestrips. The advanced seal stays and stuck to the teeth, so no movement. They''re not gunky and they whiten really well.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

After I got my teeth cleaned at the dentist I began using baking soda and peroxide to brush.

I make up a paste with the soda, mix it with peroxide and brush, and swish peroxide around in my mouth as a rinse. They are even whiter than they were after the tech. finished cleaning them.

 

[radiantquest]

Date: 1/20/2010 8:00:07 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I''ve had good luck with the rembrant and aquafresh tray systems. I do them maybe once a year and then I brush morning/night with crest vivid white, which IMO is the best whitening toothpaste available at the grocery store.

Yuo, I love the vivid white toothpaste. I think that the vivid white night works better though. It could be because it is staying on your teeth all night instead of washing away as soon as you drink something. Let me ask you, do you listerine? I love to listerine, but I wonder if it changes the effectiveness. When I vivid white I do not listerine and I hate it.

I asked my dentist about the zoom whitening and she said that it is $595 and they give you at home upkeep things to take home with you. That seems really high.

Phoenix You did it at you dentists office and didn''t see a difference? I would be really hesitant handing over that kind of money for no difference. Which makes me think how I would feel if I bit the bullet and paid the money and then wasn''t happy with the results. How can they charge that for a service that did not work?

 

[noelwr]

I''ve always been impressed with Americans and their beautiful white teeth. they don''t promote this in my country because they say it weakens the teeth. my dentist said that if I wanted to do it, maybe I could start at 40

. yes, my country is still stuck in the stone ages.

my teeth are unfortunately naturally a little yellow (though the dentist said they are also very strong), but I have problems with my gums which is why I''m afraid of the whitening strips.

 

[Lilac]

I did the Zoom whitening at my dentist''s office and it worked *really* well, but it was very expensive (and very painful during the treatment. My gums were hurting a lot). I did it before my wedding but wish I had done it a couple weeks before rather than days before (my teeth were a little too white at the wedding - I should''ve given them a little time to "tone down").

It''s been about a year and I would like to try another whitening product now because they''ve definitely faded. I used to use the crest whitestrips but they slid around and never seemed to work too well. Maybe now I''ll try the advanced seal ones - it seems those stay put better than the old ones.

 

[TooPatient]

I haven''t tried this yet, but I''ve read in several places that baking soda and lemon juice whiten teeth very well.

I guess you are supposed to mix equal parts of the two, rub it on, and rinse.

There is information on the internet about it with more detail.

 

[yssie]

No lemon juice!!




My best friend's dad is a dentist, he vetoed that one right quick - you want only a weak acid. Apparently lemon juice, strawberries, etc. can do some serious damage to your enamel, though they might whiten the first couple of times.

 

[Callisto]

I used the crest whitening strips. I liked them and they worked well but if I did it again I''d be interested to try the new trays. The strips tended to fall off my bottom teeth which was annoying.

My biggest advice is to pay attention to how your teeth feel. It says to do them twice a day but my teeth were SO sensitive when I was using that schedule. So I changed it to once a day and giving myself at least one day off each week. Yes it took longer for me to complete the treatment but my mouth did not feel good when using the suggested schedule.

 

[Callisto]

Date: 1/20/2010 3:16:20 PM
Author: yssie
No lemon juice!!





My best friend''s dad is a dentist, he vetoed that one right quick - you want only a weak acid. Apparently lemon juice, strawberries, etc. can do some serious damage to your enamel, though they might whiten the first couple of times.

Oh also I second this. Apparently acidic food is the new red flag in dentistry besides sugar that causes cavities since it eats away at enamel. I was told even to avoid brushing my teeth right after I''ve had something acidic, or at least rinse my mouth with water first to avoid rubbing the acid in on my teeth.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 1/20/2010 11:18:19 AM
Author: radiantquest

Date: 1/20/2010 8:00:07 AM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

I''ve had good luck with the rembrant and aquafresh tray systems. I do them maybe once a year and then I brush morning/night with crest vivid white, which IMO is the best whitening toothpaste available at the grocery store.

Yuo, I love the vivid white toothpaste. I think that the vivid white night works better though. It could be because it is staying on your teeth all night instead of washing away as soon as you drink something. Let me ask you, do you listerine? I love to listerine, but I wonder if it changes the effectiveness. When I vivid white I do not listerine and I hate it.

I asked my dentist about the zoom whitening and she said that it is $595 and they give you at home upkeep things to take home with you. That seems really high.


Phoenix You did it at you dentists office and didn''t see a difference? I would be really hesitant handing over that kind of money for no difference. Which makes me think how I would feel if I bit the bullet and paid the money and then wasn''t happy with the results. How can they charge that for a service that did not work?

I don''t listerine, it burns my mouth. I find brushing well and flossing works well enough for me. I find the CVW also keeps my teeth feeling clean longer than with other TP. You don''t get that scummy scuzzy feeling by 10am!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Crest makes a good toothpaste for sensitive teeth. They actually have a "sensitive" version of their whitening system that comes with the TP. Anyway, I use this to brush with during my course of whitening trays and it helps a lot with the sensitivity issues. They key to keeping your gums from getting inflamed is to only leave the strips on for the advised amount of time and to take a break between treatments if you feel them getting irritated.

 

[Haven]

I''ve tried three different whitening techniques, so here goes:
- Crest Whitening Strips. I did this years ago, probably around 2002, and it worked really well. Cost: $20? maybe even $15
- One-hour whitening at the dentist''s office around 2005. This worked well, too. I had about the same result as the two weeks of the Crest Whitening Strips. Cost: $100
- Zoom whitening at the dentist''s office. This did not work well at all. It was a total scam. I had this done right before I had my veneers replaced in May 2008. Cost: $550

So basically the cheapest option worked as well as the $100 option, and the $550 option was a complete ripoff.

 

[radiantquest]

I am really scared to do it myself because I had some kind of decalcification or something on my teeth years ago and they put tooth colored filling on the out facing parts of my two front teeth. A little whitening like from a toothpaste hasn''t cause them to show up, but I really want whiter teeth and I am afraid that the teeth will whiten and then I will have to yellow spots on my two front teeth. I have kinda large teeth and it would be so noticeable.

 

[wsu12]

I had my teeth whitened for the first time right after I had my braces removed (when I was 16). It was done at the dentist with send home trays/gels. Two times a year I wear the trays again to freshen up the color. I just buy the gel at my dentist yearly and use the trays I have. I think my parents paid about $500 at the dentist for the initial treatment. Yearly upkeep is $30/yr. I get compliments all the time about the color of my teeth. I have been very pleased with the results.

 

[enbcfsobe]

My incessant tea-drinking habit makes my teeth a sad color... Before my wedding I used Aquafresh White Trays and found that it was effective and didn''t cause excessive sensitivity. Not super-duper shocking white, but that wasn''t what I was going for. I did use Crest toothpaste for sensitive teeth (pro care or something like that). I finished the trays week or so before the wedding and then used the Crest daily strips (their lowest strength) every other day to maintain until the big day and over the honeymoon.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I used crest whitestrips and their mornig and evening whitening tooth paste for a few weeks before my wedding. it worked great!

 

[CNOS128]

Zoom whitening was probably the most painful experience of my entire life - AND the whiteness didn''t last more than a few days. I was fine during the whitening in my dentist''s office, except for the sensation that my gums were burning. But when I got home I had such severe, shooting pain in every nerve in my mouth - I couldn''t do anything but lie in bed with the covers over my head, and cry. None of my OTC painkillers even made a dent.

I thought Crest Whitestrips worked well, though! Still made my teeth a little sensitive, but not like Zoom.

 

[jn4]

I love crest whitestrips pro effects! They worked so well! I noticed a difference in 3 days. If you have sensitive teeth I would recommend using senodye(sp) while using the strips.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

So my dentist said everyone has a limit on how white their teeth can get. Zoom is suppose to take you to the limit. I had it done before my wedding. It is expensive and if you have sensitive teeth BEWARE. It is painful (in my experience). I got the trays with the Zoom package but haven''t done the bleaching at home in a LONG time. I tried the strips a LONG time ago and never noticed much of a change.

 

[Luckyeshe]

Date: 1/20/2010 1:10:10 AM
Author: Phoenix
I''m watching this thread with great interest, ''cos I''ve tried everyhing - professional whitening at the dentist''s, home kit etc - and my teeth have stayed more or less the same shade!!

Thanks for starting this, Lucky.

Not a problem, Phoenix. I''m really wanting to get my teeth a few shades whitier and like Trill, I''m gonna convince my FI to do it too. Originally it was because of the upcoming wedding, but truthfully, I just got tired of not having white teeth!

 

[Luckyeshe]

Ladies, thanks so much for the input! I think I''m gonna check out the Crest Advance Strips for myself and the Rembrandt trays for the FI. I''ll get that toothpaste HH suggest and I can''t wait to have whiter teeth! Thanks again all you wonderful PSers!!!

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 1/20/2010 11:18:19 AM






Phoenix You did it at you dentists office and didn't see a difference? I would be really hesitant handing over that kind of money for no difference. Which makes me think how I would feel if I bit the bullet and paid the money and then wasn't happy with the results. How can they charge that for a service that did not work?

This is actually a sore point for me. Long story short, I'd initially enquired at the dentist's office and my long time dentist advised me against professional whitening (though his clinic offers it) and he recommended the home kit instead. Then, he went on holiday and a new dentist somehow convinced me to do the professional whitening (well, because he has really beautiful white teeth himself and I was telling him that I'd been considering teeth whitening for the longest time. So he did it and oh man, it was amongst the most painful (if not *the* most) painful experience I'd ever had. The problem is my gum is super sensitive and it was reacting really badly to the bleaching solution, even after several injections!! So by the time he finished, I was in so much pain and felt like I was having an "outer body experience" (no kidding, it was THAT bad). The pain and the sensitivity continued for about 2-3 days afterwards. So after a week or so, I came back and this new dentist said that that at the time of the whitening, my teeth had gone about 8 shades (I think that's what he said?) whiter than they originally had been; but by the time the week had elapsed, the colour went back some shades and at this point, my teeth were only 4 shades whiter! The worst thing now when I look at them, they look exactly the same. He said that some people don't take very well to whitening

And I paid approx USD1,400!! I wish he'd told me about his beforehand.

He then recommended the home kit which I bought (and shelled out another USD350). I used it diligently but still no improvement - none that I can see anyway!

I was thinking of complaining to his boss, but this was at the time we were moving to Shanghai and I didn't get round to it. I may still write and complain anyway. But I do wonder though, is it really true that some people's teeth cannot be whitened?

Sorry for the threadjack, Lucky, and I hope you get your beautiful white teeth. Looks like there is really excellent advice here.

 

[honey22]

Date: 1/20/2010 1:10:10 AM
Author: Phoenix
I''m watching this thread with great interest, ''cos I''ve tried everyhing - professional whitening at the dentist''s, home kit etc - and my teeth have stayed more or less the same shade!!

Thanks for starting this, Lucky.

Phoenix, my dentist explained to me that apparently some stains (such as from certain types of antibiotics used in childhood) will never whiten. If the dentist can''t whiten them, then I don''t think anything will.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 1/21/2010 5:41:09 AM
Author: honey22


Phoenix, my dentist explained to me that apparently some stains (such as from certain types of antibiotics used in childhood) will never whiten. If the dentist can''t whiten them, then I don''t think anything will.

Thanks, honey, for letting me know. Actually, I don''t have any stains on my teeth as such. They''re just a bit yellow - all over.