Teeth Whitening
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Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:35 pm

hello everybody,

i've been thinking about whitening my teeth and it's soooo expenisve Rolling Eyes

if you do it at the dentist. so i was wondering if anybody tried the whitening gel from colgate or any other over the counter stuff that really worked?

can't wait for a whiter smile!

free skin care · Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:49 pm

me too

the whitening toothpastes do not work at all for me, I would like to try the whitening stripes or sth like that, but am worried about the similar effects as the whitening toothpastes, i.e. do nothing at all/just minimal Confused

Would really love to hear from you all about these products, thanks!

Fri Jun 11, 2004 5:41 am

I like the Rembrandt whitening toothpastes, but the results are very subtle. Not anything like what you will get with a whitening kit. The whitening kit I got from the dentist was quite effective but left my teeth very sensitive. Plus you have to remember that your original fillings won't whiten :s

I've recently heard good things about the Crest whitening strips (and they now have a 7 day kit instead of 2 weeks) but they also do increase teeth sensitivity for most people.

Mabsy

free skin care · Fri Jun 11, 2004 9:08 am

Mabsy, The teeth whitening products have been introduced to the market for quite a while, and more and more new brands come up .. yet, I seldom hear good reviews from ppl, this is the reason that I hestitate Confused

Plus they are not inexpensive!!
I am wondering why they will increase teeth sensitivity? Is it a temporary effect?

Fri Jun 11, 2004 6:00 pm

my brother used the strips, but he said it was a HUGE hassle! so i'm thinking of getting a gel - that one that comes with a little brush, you just paint it on... you don;t have to go inside the tooth, just on top, so i don't think it'll increse the sensitivity too much. Bbiz i think sensitivity increses beacuse it strips the enamel and that's why they become whiter! Ironic isn't it? Smile

Fri Jun 11, 2004 7:03 pm

Bbiz,

The sensitivity is something temporary, but it can get pretty darn bad for a while (and can extend to the gums too). It depends on the person though.

From what I understand, most teeth whitening products contain carbamide peroxide which gets converted to hydrogen peroxide on contact with saliva. The sensitivity is caused by the hydrogen peroxide bleaching the teeth. However, products like that don't strip the enamel from your teeth so there's no need to worry about that. I would avoid certain toothpastes though because some do whiten teeth because they are abrasive (therefore thinning the enamel).

Glow - I've tried the Colgate gel that you paint on the teeth. I had pretty bad tooth sensitivity with that one and the results were just ok (the dentist one was way better but also about 10x as expensive - and had tooth sensitivity also).

Mabsy

free skin care · Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:12 am

Thank you, thank you Surprised

I think I will just stay away from those whitening products Confused

- not that effective, produce side effects, can be costly Crying or Very sad

..

I found wearing orange red lipgloss/lipstick makes teeth look white Very Happy

Sat Jun 12, 2004 3:54 pm

Mabsy,

thanks for letting me know that, i was really considering the dentist, but could not shell out that much money without asking around! i think i'm just going to brush harder and meybe invest into the automatic tooth brush! Very Happy

Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:15 am

Ah yes, lipstick is supposed to be a great trick for making teeth appear whiter. Apparently blue-based red lipstick is the best.

Bbiz- the side effects depend on the person, however I have had teeth sensitivity with each one I tried (apart from the Rembrandt toothpaste but I use the "whitening for sensitive teeth" formulation).

Mabsy

Tue Jun 22, 2004 10:40 am

I used the 14 day white strips a couple of years ago and had so much success with them that even my dentist noticed. When I decided to have a couple of veneers done because I didn't like the shape of a couple of teeth us, they had to take me to the lab and custom match the shading because the strips worked so well. I know that results vary from person to person but I really did have success with them.

As with any whitening process, the results are not permanent and need to be repeated at sometime, so I am now doing the process again. This time I am using the Premium (7 Day) strips and am on day 6 and already see a difference.

I did try the paint on stuff before and didn't like it. I admit that the strips can be annoying while they are on, but they are only on for 30 minutes at a time. As for toothpaste...I recently read that you should look for low abrasion toothpastes with a formula below 120 on the relative dentin abrasivity scale.

Yes, darker lipstick does help make your teeth look whiter.
Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:36 pm

Crest strips did gave me whiter teeth. However, it is more sensitive than before. Other tooth pastes aren't as effective as strips. Using both gave me better results. Magazines say that using whitening tooth pastes, gels, gum, and floss will give the whitest teeth for a lovely smile.

free skin care · Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:45 am

I have been using mouth trays from my dentist & "day white 2" gel for about 3 weeks with good results. Not too expensive either, I think my health fund picked up some of the $. Smile

One tooth in bottom front has not had the same result 'due to previous trauma' but dentist recommended the Colgate whitening paste for such instances - is too hard to hold mouth open long enough when trying to apply to all front teeth. My sister has tried this with no effect.
None of the whitening products work on veneers or "white" fillings either, so is something to watch out for.

free skin care · Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:38 pm

This product really helped me:

Rembrandt Tooth Whitening Kit - $10

I now have a whiter smile Very Happy

(about 4 to 5 shades whiter) and several people complimented me on that Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:39 pm

Actually, I'm not sure if it was $10.00, but something around that.

Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:00 am

I recommend supersmile toothpaste. It did wonders for my teeth and absolutely love it!

You can find more details on their website: www.supersmile.com

Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:02 am

All,

I have skimmed through your messages and thought I would add my two cents. Very Happy

Orignally, I tried the Colgate overnight brush-on gel. It worked minimally, was a hassle and tasted bad.

Then, I tried the WhiteStrips...less messy but still hard to control the darn things from slipping around. Again, minimal effect.

Then, I tried dental whitening from my dentist. It cost me $300 for the dental trays and the gel (which was still messy) but it worked GREAT! Now that I have the trays, I only pay $25 every 9 to 12 months for touch up packs.

Though there was no tooth sensitivity with the OTC stuff, the effects were not worth the cost and hassle. There were some temporary sensitivity issues with the professional system but they were minor and short-lived.

The time frame for all three treatments were roughly the same (7-14 days) the dentist solution was worth the cost for the long term results.

I recommend that you speak with your dental professional to assess your tooth health and then, if you can, go for it. YOu will be pleased. I was! Very Happy

If you could see me now, you would see a big smile! Smile

Cheers,
ck

free skin care · Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:02 pm

i've used the crest white strips (14 days) with good success. i also have sensitive teeth (the day i had to start using the same kind of toothpaste as my granny was a very sad day) but didn't have problems with the strips. a few ideas for extremely sensitive teeth might be to either leave the strips on for slightly less time or just do the strips once a day.

using an electric toothbrush also does do wonders to help the whitening process along, whether you are using a whitening product or just doing your daily brushing.

Very Happy

lamicuz

Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:45 pm

I suppose if your teeth are merely stained from things such as coffee, tea, wine, smoking, etc. that an over-the-counter product will help. I've heard a lot of great things about Whitening Strips, and my best friend uses them all the time.

However, for those of you who have naturally off-color teeth, mottling (white & dark speckles) or whose teeth have discolored because of medication (i.e. tetracycline), unfortunately, your teeth don't really have much of chance of really brightening-up. Porcelain veneers or bonding will do this, but bonding chips or wears down eventually,and veneers are EXPENSIVE!

Fri Jul 16, 2004 3:57 pm

I've tried the whitening toothpastes, the brush-on overnight gels, the dental trays and the strips. The toothpastes never gave me any noticable results. The brush-on gels gave me OK results, but the dried gel would flake off of my teeth and I'd wake up in the morning with globs of goop on my tongue. The dental trays worked well, but after about 5 minutes in my mouth, my saliva glands really kick in and I'm drooling, what a mess! The Crest Whitestrips worked the best for me. My teeth were visibly about 4-5 shades whiter, the Dentist was even impressed. You can wear them while talking, etc.. and the sensitivity was minimal for me. And if you don't get the results that you are looking for, you can go to Crest.com and get a second kit free. I've used the 14 day kits for over a year now and am excited to try the 7 day kit.

free skin care · Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:47 pm

my teeth have always been naturally white..i guess thats because i dont drink a lot of coffee, pop etc. If thats part of your diet, cutting it out would help. Also i've heard that adding baking soda to your toothpaste works. Hope that helped!

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