Marej | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 07:59 am     Has anyone tried those teeth whitening products? Like crest strips, etc? |
Neko | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 08:16 am     My friend uses the Crest Whitening Strips... She says they work really well... I just use toothpastes that have the whitening stuff in them. |
Rissa | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 08:22 am     Marej, I think they all work fairly equally.. I have used the trays (years ago) and now I just paint on the night stuff every few days. THe difference with the strips is that your saliva doesn't rinse it away as fast so the results might be seen sooner. Also some have a different amount/strength of the whitening product which effects how fast they whiten. Keep in mind though that the stuff is hard on your gums, and if you are sensitive to begin with, the strips might not be the way to go. I had to stop with the strips because they irritated my gums to where they were stinging. The paint on gel works a little slower but I can control where it goes better. Just personal preference. |
Skootz | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 08:53 am     My dentist and I had a big conversation about these products recently. He said that it works for some people and not for others. The best way to check this is to just try and whiten the top teeth and see after a certain period if this particular product works for you, you will notice a difference. |
Tashakinz | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 09:58 am     I fell into the over-the-counters just don't work for me category. (I tried Rembrandt & Crest & Colgate). I'm getting the Zoom whitening from my dentist in December - he said I should see a 10 shade improvement. I'll report back if the thread isn't dead by then. lol |
Froggiegirl621 | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 11:40 am     I tried the Crest Night Effects and have to be honest and say I throughly hated every night of it! It tastes not so great, and it just felt mushy on my teeth the next morning. To get the stuff off without it gunk-ing up your toothbrush you have to wipe it off with some toilet paper or something. Well the whitner must have made my teeth super sensitive because the wiping would just go through me and make me want to throw up. It's supposed to be a 14 night process. I think I made it through 10 night before I said enough is enough and threw it away. My BF said he noticed a bit of a difference, but I couldn't see anything. On another note, friends of mine have used the Crest Whitestips and really like them. I have personally seen a difference in the color of their teeth. I just haven't gotten around to trying them just yet, but it's on my list of things to do. I'll keep you all posted! |
Tabbyking | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 11:57 am     for anyone who has any bonding or white fillings done, it will not whiten these areas. it only works on your real tooth enamel, according to my dentist. i have had chips repaired to my front teeth and the tooth might whiten but leave the bonding as it is--which was done to match my tooth shade. i can thank my son's bowling ball head for my main chip and trying to open a dramamine foil packet with my teeth for the other my nieces and nephews called me 'aunt chip' until we could get back from camping and i could get to my dentist LOL |
Ocean_Islands | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 12:38 pm     I tried the strips and they worked great for me. |
Neko | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 03:24 pm     Tabby, I can't whiten my teeth more the same reason. Though mine aren't chips, they're the whole bottom half of my two front teeth. Mmmmm pavement..face first.. So if I whitened my teeth, I'd have to get the filling bottom's of my teeth taken off somehow and replaced.. Then they'd stay white as my teeth got gradually stained again. Too much work for me. ^_^ |
Justavice | Friday, October 03, 2003 - 09:46 pm     I have used the Crest whitestrips with great success. I used a full box as directed, and since then have kept a box in the cupboard and whenever I feel like I need a "touch up" (about every four months or so) I just use one top and bottom a day for three or four days and it works great. People have actually commented on how white my teeth are. (Makes me wonder what they looked like before!!) My gums did get very tender toward the end of the first box, but I have to admit it was worth it. In my Sunday newspaper (LA Times) there is frequently a coupon for $7.00 off of them and the best price I have found is at Wal-Mart. |
Cinder | Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 09:21 am     Neko you gave me something to think about. I have been putting off trying any product because I front two teeth are crowns. My master plan was to get my teeth whitened (at the dentist- then get new crowns- which I need to anyways) But will my teeth yellow again leaving the crowns too white??? Has anyone gotten their teeth whitened by the dentist? |
Neko | Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 09:37 am     Well, my "filling teeth", I believe, have darkened a bit but I think they take longer to stain.... So it would be two different colours, I'm quite sure. You should ask you dentist if that'd work... |
Ketchuplover | Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 03:36 pm     I just painted myself black I'm turning heads all over. |
Marysafan | Monday, October 06, 2003 - 05:19 am     I recently saw a dentist on "The View" who was doing a make-over on a middle aged women. He said that some Baby boomers who had been given a certain anti-biotic (I think it was tetracycline) in their youth will never have white teeth no matter what they do (unless they get veneers) because it caused their teeth to turn gray and the whitening products will not reverse it. |
Way2prissy | Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 02:50 pm     I used Crest Strips and they were so messy it was disgusting. I would classify them as marginal. However, I did pay $250 to have the molds made of my teeth at the dentist office. They created two clear plastic trays from the molds that fit my teeth perfectly. I can talk on the phone and no one can guess that I am bleaching my teeth. You cannot eat or drink while the trays are in. I just squeeze a small thread of the bleaching gel into each tray and wear it to bed at night. The difference has been remarkable. The only negative thing I noticed is the increased sensitivity in my teeth for a few days after each bleaching. |
Lucy | Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 03:44 pm     Cinder, I had trays made by my dentist and I buy the bleaching gel at his office. You should ask your dentist, but I think it might be best to whiten your 'real' teeth as much as possible and then have your new crowns made to match your whitened teeth. You may have to do touch ups more often on your 'real' teeth, but at least you'll have the brightest smile possible. I have found that after doing the initial 8 (maybe it was a little longer) nights of whitening, my teeth only need to be touched up about every 6 months. Even then I only wear the trays 1 or 2 nights. |
Bastable | Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 08:13 pm     Anyone who buys a teeth whitening kit at the drugstore should know that they are classified as cosmetics and not as drugs--which means these products don't undergo rigorous testing by the government to gauge their safety. If they were drugs, they would be scrutinized very carefully, but because the FDA hasn't looked into them, you should not assume they are 100% safe. They have been approved by accepted dentists' associations, but not by other doctors. You'll be ingesting a lot of bleach if you use these products, and no one is doing tests to know how that will affect your health. |
Sia | Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 09:42 pm     I got the take-home trays late this spring (they're custom-made by the dentist to fit your teeth exactly) and 11% peroxide gel from my dentist, and I had good results within two or three weeks. I still use the stuff occasionally to maintain my brighter smile. The cost was under $350 but well worth it. |
Hippyt | Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 10:25 pm     Yeah,Bastable,I'm a big fan of the FDA. Not. |
Vsmart | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 11:45 pm     Got from the dentist a DIY tray kit for $100. After 4 nights, my teeth matched the caps of the top 2 front teeth. Bike accident age 10. Told to use once a month. The bleaching was a side effect discovered by dentists treating gum infections with peroxide; so it is safe for gums. BTW, my twin brother Roy, the chemist, swears by Arm & Hammer baking soda & peroxide toothpaste. |