Here is a cut and paste from another thread where I wrote an answer- btw- swishing with peroxide- while not dangerous at all will not do anything to whiten teeth. The peroxide gets diluted too quickly with saliva to have any whitening effects. if it makes you feel good, go for it- but your teeth will remain yellow: Man, there are some serious misconceptions on this thread and some outright false information. Let me attempt to clarify the truth about whitening teeth. My credentials - Im a practicing dentist for the past 15 years, I lecture nationally and internationally on the technology in dentistry as well as cosmetic dental procedures. Question- What is the best way to whiten? Answer- Hands down the "best" way is to use bleaching trays created by your dental office. Trays provide an intimate fit to your teeth and dont allow the bleaching gel to escape. Typically you will get a solution (15-35%) of carbamide peroxide (a variation of hydrogen peroxide) from your dental office that you will place nightly in your trays. The more often you can place the gel in the trays, the faster and better the results. Now- what if you get sensitivity? decrease the frequency of whitening- so instead of every night, do it every other night. Sensitivity is temporary and is the limiting factor in how fast you can whiten and how strong of a solution you should use. There is NO PERMANENT DAMAGE with whitening. None. ZERO, nada, zilch. Its a temporary thing. Similar to hey- my tailor stuck a needle in me, it hurts. Yes- it hurts till the needle is removed. Same thing with whitening- most people get temporary sensitivity. But it will eventually go away. Use sensodyne toothpaste if the sensitivity persists. What about the light and "laser bleaching" Laser bleaching is bullshit. doesnt work and there is really nothing on the market that bleaches the teeth with a laser. You do have britesmile and zoom- these are popular. However their efficacy is questioned. We have both in our office and frankly I just tell people to get the trays. In office bleaching is like a jump start- meaning its the equivalent of doing 2-3 days with the trays at home but its not necessarily better. I always give my patients a set of trays after their in office session- no matter what. What about the crest white strips and similar over the counter materials - they work but not as well. Its simple, what your dentist can prescribe is a stronger solution of the gel which you cant get over the counter. But they do work and its an option. However because the strips are glued to the teeth, saliva gets in and decreases the concentration of the gel which minimizes the effect of the gel. so you have to use the strips longer and change them more often. Instead of bleaching with the trays your dentist gives you for a week- you may have to do the strips for a month? cheaper? debatable as you have to buy more strips. What should it cost? - I can only tell you what we charge - $400 for inoffice and trays. $250 for just trays. You can get em cheaper im sure online and as long as the materials are good, im sure you get a similar result. There are offices charging 500-1000 bucks for whitening. Im sure you get a good result but you should expect to pay 250-500 for trays. I can tell you that at a dental office you are paying for the overhead of the office, the expertise of the dentist and getting the proper materials. Kind of similar to going to a high end tailor to get a great result. Theres shitty tailors who overcharge and there are shitty dentists who overcharge. Using whitening toothpaste, rinsing with hydrogen peroxide etc will not whiten your teeth. The perioxide is not in contact with your teeth for long enough to do anything. its diluted quickly with the saliva. And you cannot kill the germs that cause "bad pussy" wtf???? Bad pussy my man is bad pussy! a dentist aint gonna help you there. painting titanium dioxide wont help either - yes its a temporary fix but wont do much to permanently whiten the teeth. How long should white teeth remain white? - anything that will stain a white shirt will eventually stain your teeth. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, if you like red wine etc- your teeth will eventually get dark again. So with the bleaching trays- after your initial treatment- i recommend to my patients to do a touch up (about 30 minutes of wearing the trays) about once a month. just pop them in while you are watching tv or something. hope this helps.
