Tooth Whiteners?

[Orchidflower]

I want to have the whitest teeth I can, so I was looking up tooth whiteners on the net and found BriteSmile. I have no idea if it's good or bad.
Has anyone on this forum used a brightener for their teeth--other than those whitening strips by Crest you can buy at Walgreen's? Something stronger than that--that lasts longer is what I am looking for.
There are several brands on the internet, I see, but I have no knowledge of them, so it is hard to know which are good and which aren't. Any advice?

 

[Moemg]

Try opalescence . You can buy it on ebay and that's what the dentists use . Try to get 10 % or 15 % . Some of the ebayers have them with the trays you need .

 

[mn54]

I am a dentist. While you can whiten your teeth with the otc creststrips, you need to see a dentist to have an impression taken of your teeth and have a bleaching tray made that fits your teeth just short of the gum line. This will allow you to use the stronger bleaching gels without harming your gums.

 

[novaman]

Don't waste your time with bleaching lights (brite smile, zoom, etc). Dentistry's dirty little secret is that they don't do anything. Sure your teeth are whiter from the treatment, but that's because of the bleaching chemicals placed on your teeth, not the lights.

BTW- I'm a dentist.

 

[Orchidflower]

Maybe 4 years ago when the men's version of The View was on opposite them (I forget the name but Dick Clark, Danny Bonaduce, Mario Lopez were on on it), I purchased a tooth whitening kit they did a special segment on. It had 2 plastic molds you put in hot water and molded to your bite, then you squirted this clear bleaching agent in the mold and your teeth became whiter. Unfortunately, the company went out of business, but I did love the product.
I am looking for someone that sells the bleaching product. I kept the molds, which are still in good condition.
I did figure the bleaching lights were just to maybe speed up the process of the bleaching chemical, frankly. Kinda baffling the public with slight of hand on the dental world's part there, but, hey! I was in sales so probably did some of that myself.
My biggest fear: getting ahold of a chemical bleaching agent that burns my gums or makes them recede.

 

[mn54]

It had 2 plastic molds you put in hot water and molded to your bite, then you squirted this clear bleaching agent in the mold and your teeth became whiter.

I would not recommend using these. If the bleaching tray does not fit properly and you are using a strong bleaching gel, it will cause your gums to get irritated and if used for a prolonged period of time could cause permanent damage. Bleaching your teeth is not an expensive procedure anymore. It is better to do it right than to try to do it cheaply and end up doing damage that will cost you a lot more in the end.

 

[Texas Proud]

My question.... does it really make them 'white'.. I mean where you can tell the difference. or just a little and only if you had a before and after and could see the small difference

ALSO, what is the effect on the teeth themselves? Does it do damage to them in any way? Make them 'brittle' or anything else?

Just curious...

 

[whitestick]

And what happens when you have a porcelain crown in the middle that was color matched to your unbrightened teeth. Does it whiten also, or will it stick out reminding others of what your teeth used to look like?

 

[Orchidflower]

My teeth are relatively white anyway, but I do drink a cup of strong coffee daily and some iced tea occasionally (and do not smoke); so, when I used the whitening agent, you definitely could see a difference. Not the stand back in amazement difference, but the coffee stains between the teeth, which probably hardly anyone ever would notice, were wiped out.
I have porcelain crowns, and they lose a bit of the yellowing, too. So, no, between the white teeth there was not this corn yellow porcelain crown looking out at me in the mirror.
I used this whitener maybe 3-4 times a year, it brightened all the teeth including the fake ones, never saw any brittle teeth or had any breakage, BUT--because I am in my 60's and the enamel has worn down some, my teeth are now more sensitive to the whitener--so, instead of wearing the mouth guard that holds the whitener for an HOUR like they say to--I used it for 20 minutes ONLY. If I keep the whitener on my teeth any longer, they will hurt for a day afterward. Learned this the hard way. Younger teeth than mine probably could keep it on for an hour, but I cannot. You have to use some common sense with this product.
Hope that answers it. Hope some Dentists jump in here now...

 

[mn54]

And what happens when you have a porcelain crown in the middle that was color matched to your unbrightened teeth. Does it whiten also, or will it stick out reminding others of what your teeth used to look like?

Bleaching will NOT change the color of crowns or fillings in the teeth. It will only change the color of tooth enamel.

 

[whitestick]

Does this require a poll?

I have porcelain crowns, and they lose a bit of the yellowing, too. So, no, between the white teeth there was not this corn yellow porcelain crown looking out at me in the mirror.
I used this whitener maybe 3-4 times a year, it brightened all the teeth including the fake ones

will NOT change the color of crowns or fillings in the teeth. It will only change the color of tooth enamel

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

MN4 is a dentist, and his information confirms everything I have heard from numerous other dentists.

Can't explain Orchid's experience but I don't think it is what she attributes it to; maybe she had some other kind of staining that bleached out, but the surface of a porcelain crown won't inherently whiten with bleaching agents.

 

[TromboneAl]

I was going to whiten my teeth, but I decided to get a tan instead.

 

[Orchidflower]

Sorry...maybe the crown didn't bleach. This is the problem when your teeth aren't very stained to begin with. Let's just conclude that the teeth do look better after whitening is all, and the stains between the teeth--despite being an obsessive flosser--got alot fainter.
I think TromboneAl's answer is best: just get a damned tan!

Anyway, does anyone other than Moemg know of a good brand to whiten your teeth? (The original question)

 

[SecondCor521]

There are three big brands out there advertising now:

Crest WhiteStrips
Listerine ?
Arm and Hammer ?

If by "good" you mean that the product whitens your teeth, I bet they all use the same bleaching chemical. I would also bet that the higher concentrations work faster or better, and that they all use about the same percentage of the chemical. So I bet it's down to peripheral benefits, like can you mold the tray to your teeth, or how the bleaching chemical is dispensed, stuff like that.

Happy to be guessing today...

2Cor521

 

[deserat]

My dentist recommended the white strips for 'home' use - otherwise, the fitted mouth pieces and gels the dentists use is the next step up.

 

[Fireup2020]

I have had no problem with Crest white strips...use these as part of a leisurely primp & prep for a fancy night...

 

[free4now]

There seem to be two major categories of whitening products:

1. Polishes which abrade stains off the surface of the teeth. All toothpastes contain polishes, but the ones that are marked as whitening contain "stronger" polishes that might take out a bit more of the tooth surface. It seems like the more expensive brands of whitening toothpaste (e.g. rembrandt) contain stronger polishes.

2. Chemical whiteners like peroxide. These are usually in gels or other leave-in treatments, where you keep them in place for some time. The most prevalent side effect of these is gum irritation (felt as overall tooth pain), so the best systems keep the chemical on the tooth only, not on the gum.

I have tried both and use the polishing toothpaste. The chemical whiteners don't have any health benefits and may weaken the teeth. I figure the polishes actually help get my teeth cleaner which is a good thing for longevity. I use Aqua Fresh Extreme Clean toothpaste, because it's not expensive and has a formula that leaves my mouth feeling cleaner than other toothpastes. It seems to form a thicker lather than other brands, which is less likely to drip out of my mouth onto my shirt

 

[TromboneAl]

I got 10 tubes of Natural White SENSITIVE whitening toothpaste at the dollar store. Can't beat the price!

 

[HpRyder]

"Has anyone on this forum used a brightener for their teeth--other than those whitening strips by Crest you can buy at Walgreen's? Something stronger than that--that lasts longer is what I am looking for."

I'm currently using "All White Bleaching Gel" 16% Carbamide Peroxide got it via internet order from dentist.net. I use it overnight, works fine for me and I've had no problems.

 

[Orchidflower]

Thanks! That and Moemg's suggestion is what I was looking for. Some real life knowledge of a bleaching agent.
Just hope I don't get started on skin care here....my son says I am obsessive about my skin and teeth, but those are two things that scream "I'm an old lady" if you don't take care of them. Vanity...they name is woman. I admit it.

 

[mn54]

I have my patients use 30% carb. peroxide. But you must have a well fitting bleaching tray to use this. Takes less than an hour a day to use. Can have quite dramatic change in color, depending on what the teeth are like to begin with.

 

[Linney]

Has anyone on this forum used a brightener for their teeth--other than those whitening strips by Crest you can buy at Walgreen's? Something stronger than that--that lasts longer is what I am looking for.

If you tried the Crest whitestrips a couple of years ago and didn't like the results, you might want to give it a try again. The formulations are stronger now and both my girlfriend and I had quite good results with the current products. Just don't buy Crest Whitestrips CLASSIC (its is the older, weaker formulation). Try the Premium Plus or the Renewal styles.

My husband and I were at Rite Aid stocking up today because they were on sale. The salesgal we talked to said that Rite Aid plans on coming out with a competing product (i.e. stronger formulation strips) in the near future.

 

[Neongreen]

Had a good chuckle at this:

http://mycomputek.com/Irony.jpg

Fantastic advertising targeting