teeth whitening options

[ellsworth81]

i've been hearing alot about the teeth whitening treatments. does anyone use em? can anyone vouch for their effectiveness or make some recommendations? details plz.

i'm not talking about the bleaching treatment you get at a hygienist/dentist. the do it yourself kind ... the ones i've seen so far are the "paint-on" treatments (similar to applying nail polish) and the whitening "strips"

[applehead]

my brother used the professional
strenght colgate white strips
after he quit smoking
and it really made a difference.

my friend used the regular strength
strips and she said her teeth hurt
a lot.
i guess it's painful if you have sensitive teeth.

[coagulated fat]

I used Crest Whitestrips and let me tell you they were annoying as hell to use, but they worked. I don't know, my teeth weren't really yellow to begin with, but I figured they could always be whiter and I'm vain like that so I tried them. Do not be fooled by the commercials, you will not be able to go about your usual routine tasks while wearing them. Or rather, you will, but you'll have to run to the mirror every 5 minutes to readjust. My friend had them too and she got through the first few days, then sold the rest on ebay.

But for me, they worked. It depends how much willpower you have.

[kimpossible]

I have professional grade dental trays and peroxide gel and am very happy with it. It ran me about $200 for the tray molds and 8 pack of gel syringes 15% peroxide. Recently I also tried the Crest Whitening strips and Night Effects (had coupon + on sale so were very cheap). Don't bother with the Crest shit.

Whitening strips
Use them about 2 times per day for 30 minutes per pop. The peroxide effectiveness will fizzle out after 30 min so no point in keeping it on longer. The strips slide a lot.

Night Effects and paint on crap
Emphatic hell no. Shit's like paiting white out on your teeth. You have to apply it to 'dry' teeth so you are grinning like a fool and drooling trying to paint the stuff on and wait for it to dry before closing your mouth. It's uneven and gets weird and chunky. You can sleep with it, it's effective for that long. You get a 14 day supply.

For the money, I'd recommend the Ultradent system with Opalescence peroxide gel I got through the dentist. Once you get the trays you can always order more gel for touch-ups. You spread the gel inside the tray and slap it on your teeth - it kinda feels like a sports mouthgard. A bit uncomfortable to sleep in but it's not too bad and the gel does not seep. No chunkiness or fuss.

Lastly, you can go for the one or two hour in office whitening, but that gel is like 32% versus the 15-20% you can do at home. If your teeth or gums are at all sensitive you'll want to go the lower concentration over time.

[kboy75]

CRest White strips hurt like hell on my teeth.

Anyone go to Brite Smile?

[ellsworth81]

Ok, I'll assume the Whitestrips chemically get in there and scrub the shit and stains out somehow. I thought it was like a dye job that goes away after a month or so.

Hmmm, they slide off eh? So you can't even plop on the couch and watch TV w/ em on?

You should post some before and after pics so we can be the judges of effectiveness :confused: Did your friends/fam compliment you and notice the difference?

I used Crest Whitestrips and let me tell you they were annoying as hell to use, but they worked. I don't know, my teeth weren't really yellow to begin with, but I figured they could always be whiter and I'm vain like that so I tried them. Do not be fooled by the commercials, you will not be able to go about your usual routine tasks while wearing them. Or rather, you will, but you'll have to run to the mirror every 5 minutes to readjust. My friend had them too and she got through the first few days, then sold the rest on ebay.

But for me, they worked. It depends how much willpower you have.

[ellsworth81]

Wow. How come you went w/ the professional setup?

But those dental trays bring back not so fond memories of the dreaded "fluoride treatment" They fill these mouthguard-like trays with some flavored goop that makes a poor attempt at imitating a pleasant taste when in fact they taste like ASS. OMG, that shit was soooo fuckin' nasty. One time I puked after getting it. What does the peroxide substance "taste" like?

When you mean the Crest shit... do you mean try out Colgate? Or just pass on the strips and paint-on shit entirely?

I probably have sensitive gums. They are inflamed. Shit, I'm in trouble...

I have professional grade dental trays and peroxide gel and am very happy with it. It ran me about $200 for the tray molds and 8 pack of gel syringes 15% peroxide. Recently I also tried the Crest Whitening strips and Night Effects (had coupon + on sale so were very cheap). Don't bother with the Crest shit.

Whitening strips
Use them about 2 times per day for 30 minutes per pop. The peroxide effectiveness will fizzle out after 30 min so no point in keeping it on longer. The strips slide a lot.

Night Effects and paint on crap
Emphatic hell no. Shit's like paiting white out on your teeth. You have to apply it to 'dry' teeth so you are grinning like a fool and drooling trying to paint the stuff on and wait for it to dry before closing your mouth. It's uneven and gets weird and chunky. You can sleep with it, it's effective for that long. You get a 14 day supply.

For the money, I'd recommend the Ultradent system with Opalescence peroxide gel I got through the dentist. Once you get the trays you can always order more gel for touch-ups. You spread the gel inside the tray and slap it on your teeth - it kinda feels like a sports mouthgard. A bit uncomfortable to sleep in but it's not too bad and the gel does not seep. No chunkiness or fuss.

Lastly, you can go for the one or two hour in office whitening, but that gel is like 32% versus the 15-20% you can do at home. If you're teeth or gums are at all sensitive you'll want to go the lower concentration over time.

[coagulated fat]

God, you had trays for fluoride? I had to swish it in my mouth for like 5 minutes, it burned and tasted absolutely nasty. The first time my brother had to do it, he thought it was water and drank it, then proceeded to puke repeatedly.

But anyway it probably just depends on how much $$ you're willing to invest in this tooth-whitening endeavor. I probably have an "after" picture but no picture hosting, AIM me later and you can see the miraculous results

[ellsworth81]

now if only they had non-invasive miraculous cures for other flaws
like snaggletooth, obesity, height, foot size, etc etc

and the suicide booth doesn't count as a solution/cure

God, you had trays for fluoride? I had to swish it in my mouth for like 5 minutes, it burned and tasted absolutely nasty. The first time my brother had to do it, he thought it was water and drank it, then proceeded to puke repeatedly.

But anyway it probably just depends on how much $$ you're willing to invest in this tooth-whitening endeavor. I probably have an "after" picture but no picture hosting, AIM me later and you can see the miraculous results

[thaite]

I get my braces off in a week. Soon afterwards, I'm gonna go for the in-office bleaching treatment.

[coagulated fat]

now if only they had non-invasive miraculous cures for other flaws
like snaggletooth, obesity, height, foot size, etc etc

and the suicide booth doesn't count as a solution/cure
Oh, but they do. Don't you read the national enquirer. Vinegar cures all!

[ellsworth81]

I get my braces off in a week. Soon afterwards, I'm gonna go for the in-office bleaching treatment.

braces... maybe i should've gotten those ...

Is it true that you have to wear a retainer or something for a while, or the teeth will kind of go back into their old messed up spots?

[ellsworth81]

Oh, but they do. Don't you read the national enquirer. Vinegar cures all!

the only thing i know from enquirer is bat boy

he scares the shit out of me

[Emperor_Mike]

the only thing i know from enquirer is bat boy

he scares the shit out of me

I'm sorry, BatBoy only gives interviews to the Weekly World News, you know.

[coagulated fat]

I didn't know what you were talking about so I looked it up, and I'm glad I did.

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/imgs/batboy/batboy.jpg

[thaite]

braces... maybe i should've gotten those ...

Is it true that you have to wear a retainer or something for a while, or the teeth will kind of go back into their old messed up spots?

I think most people do have to wear a retainer, but that may not be true for all cases. I know that I will have to wear one.

[ism]

I gotta vouch for the Whitestrips. If you intend on moving your lips while they're on then, yes, they will shift. If you have sensitive gums it will hurt. They taste funny. However, they fit my schedule well. One during a 30 minute nap. Another while surfing YW. The commercials are lying, as you'd have to be pretty confident to go out in public with them. But they do work. They won't be supremely white, but for something that doesn't require scrubbing and isn't custom molded, reduces yellow significantly.

Had a coupon, think it was worth it at that price.

[applehead]

i thought you took before and after pics.
can we see em?

[amietron]

my uncle says that the crest strips you can buy at dental offices are a lot stronger than the kinds they sell at the super market.'

i recommend discus dental nite white excel 2. i used the 22% kind.

[deez nuts]

my best friend is a dentist.

[kimpossible]

The latest generation of professional grade whitening gels don't seep, don't taste like ass and require very small amounts to get a whitening effect. I sleep with my trays in, the effectiveness of the gel is about 8-10 hours. $200 isn't much for customs trays and a supply of professional gel.

This is what I use Ultradent (http://www.ultradent.com/toothwhitening/toothwhitening.htm)

[ellsworth81]

i thought you took before and after pics.
can we see em?

who is you

[Faithless]

Teeth whitening options really depend on how your teeth got discolored in the first place. No?

Smoking and other ways of staining what were once white teeth are treatable, from what I've read.

But if your problem is with a gradual loss of enamel, that's another story.

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/bookshelf/Books/18/127.cfm

[kboy75]

anyone do the photolight and gel thing where it only takes one hour but is $$$?