Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

welshdent

just quickly ... I dont think any dentists have advocated capping teeth for whitening purposes. I think we have actually strongly advised against it. Whitening, when done properly, can work well. If you take anything from this thread take the following

See a dentist, have yourself examined for YOUR needs. Take their advice and get it done professionally by a professional.

Do NOT buy anything online, do not be led by fancy advertising and big names and amazing offers, do not crown healthy teeth for appearance sake. Do not think whitening toothpastes will whiten your teeth ... they wont.

The products that work well are ..... carbamide peroxide gel of 10 - 15ish% by AN Other company in custom lab made trays for your mouth by AN Other lab, used as directed.

brook2jack

And most importantly do not go to anyone other than a dentist to have whitening done. I don't know about smile 60 but most whitening "clinics" are illegal as they use "technicians" who have had a couple of hours training and often use dangerous chemicals that potentially cause permanent damage. The first successful prosecutions have just taken place and more are to follow.

However the one of the biggest no nos for whitening is on those who have gum disease or receeding gums due to gum disease. Unless the trays are very carefully trimmed or even if they are trimmed whitening can be very very sensitive. Take your own dentists advice. Don't go pick and mixing your dental care unless you have been referred somewhere as the best care you will get is from a dentist who knows you, knows your oral health and will provide you with a long term solution and a long term treatment plan and a long term relationship.

ch0ccy

welshdent wrote: »

tbh I would not recommend using someone based on system. Choose a practitioner based on reputation and ability by all means. By being system led you get someone who will use one for a variety of reasons but it may not be the best. FWIW I have found voco to work well in the past. At the end of the day IMHO, most of the time whitening gels are like ibuprofen .... tescos own or nurofen .... If you see what I mean??

After failed bleaching with voco perfect bleach (a complete waste of money for me) I made sure to do so some research and looked into various brands like Polanight, Optident, Opalescence, Zoom, finally deciding on Enlighten as I wasn't keen on Zoom's 1 hour "instant" whitening and liked Enlighten's shade guarantee. I did research the clinic for reviews/testimonials before contacting them.

I don't want to get a nice new crown only to have it replaced in a few years, in case any future whitening gels I use would make my teeth whiter than the crown, therefore it's important I make sure my teeth are as white as possible before my new crown.

brook2jack

If whitening doesn't work there can be many reasons, the trays, toothgrinding, incorrect storage of syringes, resistant teeth , incorrect use of system. The reason you pay the dentist is that they have chosen a system that works in their hands and although everyones teeth have a shade you can't bleach beyond and it's impossible to predict what that will be everyone should get lighter teeth. If you don't go back to the dentist as that is what you pay for.

In your case you have partial lightening , which is normal, and I feel you should press this dentist to finish off a half finished job.

However like Welshdent I agree most systems are pretty indistinguishable and it's madness to choose someone on the basis of a system. The important part is good , well made trays properly constructed and fitted. I pay £70 lab fees for my trays and these are not the most expensive.

welshdent

ch0ccy my point is that pretty much all the systems you mentioned, when used for custom trays ... use the same thing ... carbamide peroxide. hence my comments about ibuprofen. The system isnt important, the technique and useage ... AND treatment planning is

welshdent

the system used by the dentist in frequently down to minor factors such as costs to the dentist, deals by reps, preference. You can make these decisions as generally bleach will do as bleach will do. We can not say why voco didnt work on you but chemically it is the same stuff.

welshdent

Lazi I think I answered your last 2 points by saying ... dont get anything online. Ask yourself what you want ... do you want it to work or not? If the answer is the former then just dont even bother with anything that does not come from a dentist.

I would avoid the bicarb approach and I do not put any faith in whitening toothpastes. They are abrasive to enamel and dentine and offer little benefit above some stain removal. They do NOT whiten teeth.

Why not go to your own dentist? Why look elsewhere? I am sure most dentists offer whitening even if you do not think they do.

welshdent

lazyboi wrote: »

Sorry to spam! Does white or blue light treatments work?

IMO ... no. Some may disagree but almost every lecture I have attended on the subject have said you may was well shine a torch on your teeth. The bleaching action comes from the peroxide.

just to be clear, in house power bleaching is NOT the same thing ... that is application of very strong bleach to the teeth. A light used will warm it up but its the same with all chemical reactions, warm it and the reaction is faster ... but the significance of that is up for discussion I should think. If you want a long lasting, predictable whiten IMO you need custom made trays and you need to follow the instructions of loading them and wearing them daily for a few hours a day for a week or 2

jugglebug

regarding over the counter treatments.
That celebrated dental consultant Gok Wan :rotfl:
Did a comparison on them with some of his ladies.
the video is on youtube if you search for it.
All testers were distinctly underwhelmed.

As others have said the gels are pretty much all of a muchness. Enlighten make a big deal of their manufacturing process and the rigid way they manage their supply. Everything is kept cold so the gels do not break down in transit. They also say their trays are tighter than others so the gel leaks out less. Is it true? Dunno. However saying that if something is ordered of the web it may or may not be what it says on the tube and it has probably sat in the back of a royal mail van parked in the sun for a hour which will ruin the potency of the stuff

ch0ccy

If my first whitening treatment worked, I wouldn't have this problem right now. I didn't even see the dentist when I picked up my trays for voco whitening, the receptionist said I didn't need to and sent me off with the trays & instruction leaflet, which I followed to the letter, maybe it's down to the trays not fitting as well as they should have.

Anyway since voco turned out to be a waste of money for me (made my teeth extremely sensitive all the time and it was only 10%, whereas it was only bad for the first couple of days of Enlighten 16%) I made sure to look into other different brands. And as Enlighten is the only one with a shade guarantee it was a no brainer for peace of mind. I was prepared to pay up to £600 to get it done properly, but phoned all the clinics recommended by Enlighten to get the best price and well, ended up here.