Got my teeth whitened

[Mauro]

Not that they needed it. My oral hygene ( sp) is very good . A girlfriend of mine wanted her teeth whitened and they were doing a buy one get one hlaf off deal at a med spa by my store. So I said ok and got roped in with her.
Now WTF!?! MY teeth look the same. I am doing what they said and it doesnt look like to me anything happened except my gums got bleached and lost color for a few hours.
Anyone have a better experience or worse?

 

[repressedm]

Any health side effects?

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

just a little Death here and there.

 

[Mauro]

no I am fine. My gums just were literally bleached for a while. I was helping a friend. I just thought it was a waste of $$ and wanted to see if anyone else had a different experience.

 

[BYucko]

I think it'd [tooth whitening] be more for someone with poor dental health.

Maybe wait a little while?

I've only tried one thing, and that's Crest Whitestrips. Damn, do those suckers work. I heard bad things about the damage they do to the enamel, but my teeth are blingin'. Now I brush rigorously in order to try and keep that up.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Denimbar

no I am fine. My gums just were literally bleached for a while. I was helping a friend. I just thought it was a waste of $$ and wanted to see if anyone else had a different experience.

Doesn't a proper whitening cost several thousand dollars? I've never had it done and my source was one of the hosts from Top Gear, so he was probably half-joking, but I was always under the impression that it was quite expensive.

 

[bullethead]

I did Britesmile when they ran a special and thought it was a waste of money.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Originally Posted by BYucko

I've only tried one thing, and that's Crest Whitestrips. Damn, do those suckers work. I heard bad things about the damage they do to the enamel, but my teeth are blingin'. Now I brush rigorously in order to try and keep that up.

I use them twice a year and (other than some tooth sensitivity), get good results. I find that if I swish with a flouride rinse it helps the sensitivity.

Denimbar, from what I've read, the results are instant. It sounds like your teeth are as white as they can get, at least resulting from that particular treatment.

 

[dfagdfsh]

Legitimate teeth whitening (which can be really expensive) is done at a dentist. What they do at a 'health spa' is just crap.

 

[Notreknip]

Originally Posted by Teger

Legitimate teeth whitening (which can be really expensive) is done at a dentist. What they do at a 'health spa' is just crap.

<----- Dentist

I tend to agree with the above. Personally, the spas up here don't/can't offer whitening. I'd be interested to hear more about the details of the treatment if you happen to reply Mauro.

 

[DocHolliday]

Doesn't real whitening wear down the enamel? I was under the impression that it wasn't something to be done lightly, or if you didn't really need it.

 

[Notreknip]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Doesn't real whitening wear down the enamel? I was under the impression that it wasn't something to be done lightly, or if you didn't really need it.

In brief, according to the literature, yes. But, only micromillimeters - probably the same effect as a month's worth of soft drinks or something like that.

The more "real" problem is the potential for sensitivity and a transient pulpitis effect. (And, a temporary decrease in bond efficiency for composites/cements, but that is a bit of a stretch for the purpose of SF.)

 

[Vivek]

Recently, i've had problems with the nerves in my two second molars (because of roots growing funny, and intersecting stuff they shouldn't) and hence have had to have two teeth surgically removed, because of the pain, i've been unable to brush my teeth well, and hence my dentist conducted a tooth whitening (and cleaning) on me. The results I must say, are spectacular, despite the slightly high pricing. They're not as white as my teeth originally were, but it's a significant improvement.

One of my friends has also had tooth whitening at her dentists' and the results were visible. In short, dentist = good.

 

[athletics]

I did the gel years ago and the results were great. I am thinking of doing it again.

 

[Notreknip]

Originally Posted by athletics

I did the gel years ago and the results were great. I am thinking of doing it again.

Indeed. Most everyone will need an annual re-charge to maintain anything near/better than an "A1" shade.

...the good news is, in my experience the duration of the re-charge treatments usually only need to be about half as long as the initial treatments.