Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

brook2jack

There are two factors to consider here

1 no toothpaste will whiten the underlying colour of teeth. Numerous research from scientific journals to which, this morning , the daily mail have shown they do not whiten.

2 what toothpastes may do is remove stain from tea , coffee , red wine etc and this may brighten the appearance of teeth. The way it does this is by rubbing the stain away. All toothpastes are potentially abrasive and can potentially damage your teeth. This is an American site but gives some idea of abrasiveness http://www.teethwhiteningreviews.com/artman/publish/whitening-toothpastes-exposed.php

The worst offenders which should only be used for cleaning grouting are euthymol, eucryl, pearl drops etc.

The arm and hammer products are not too bad but people often use whitening products excessively brushing more than twice a day with them. My advice is if you have staining and want to use these sort of products use an ordinary toothpaste most of the time and these a few times a week only.

Oral b is not a problem with abrasiveness as far as I know.

Whitening toothpastes will only give at best a result the Sam as a good scale and polish. They wont give you a simon cowell smile even if you like that sort of thing.

Obsessed

Hi, I really want to get my teeth whitened but was told by my dentist it would cost me £350 to do so. I'm a student so this is obviously a little out of budget!

My teeth have been yellow my entire life and it hasn't done wonders for my self-esteem. I was recently given a link to purchase custom whitening trays on ebay and I'm just wondering if it's legit? I've read some posts in this thread (mainly by Toothsmith) and realise that some products are not good to put on your teeth, just wondering if this was one of them.

The product is: ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-Teeth-Whitening-Bleaching-Trays-UK-/250877877492?pt=UK_HealthBeauty_DentalCare_RL&hash =item3a697c9cf4

Thanks.

brook2jack

It is illegal to supply in the uk and eu any whitening products that contain over 0.1% peroxide. Therefore most suppliers of these products are doing so illegally.
Do you trust a complete stranger over the Internet to supply chemicals you are going to put on one of the most delicate parts of the body? I have not followed the link but could not advise anyone to buy materials that could possibly cause permanent damage over the Internet.

Obsessed

Thanks for your answer. I agree with your point, and that's why I wanted a second opinion. I'm completely clueless when it comes to these things. Is there any safe alternative?

brook2jack

If it is legal to sell over the counter ie toothpastes,gels etc it won't work. All the whitening kits in boots etc will do is remove stain but they wont lighten the underlying colour of your teeth.

Really the only safe thing to do is to save up from your pay-packets when you graduate and get it done at a dentists. In the meantime be reassured your teeth are probably a perfectly natural colour and are probably not noticed by anyone but you.

Silaqui

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question really. I feel that my teeth are a little on the yellow side - it's not really bad, and it's not staining as such (I don't smoke, or drink much of all the usual suspects) but I just think they could do with brightening up a bit.

I don't want to use anything too abrasive or strong because I know they don't need that much. So does anyone know of a gentle whitening method?

Thanks in advance,
Silaqui.

brook2jack

LandlordLee wrote: »

I always see Brook2jack posting on this issue.. Are you a dentist with an agenda?

Peroxide is the only thing that whitens teeth, and the European directive is nonsense, like most silly European directives that impose laws on to us with ZERO debate.


And this except dentists rubbish.. Well it is everyone, including dentists who can not whiten teeth with peroxide.

Next time matey, stop sticking your two cents in. I am sick of reading it.

Actually you are rather out of date with this information.... published today
"Dentists must see tooth whitening patients first The Council of the European Union has today approved a new regulations which will mean that products containing or releasing over 0.1 per cent hydrogen peroxide cannot be provided directly to the consumer. They will only be available to patients following an examination and a first episode of treatment provided or supervised by a dentist."

welshdent

mystic_bertie wrote: »

well it is a bit on the long side dont you think, i dont have a spare 10 hours. So i thought i would ask. IS that ok.

if i can acquire the same stuff the dentists use then i would be willing to give it a go.

The short answer I should think is No. Especially since the new EU ruling. I know we get our supplies from a specific dental supplier so they would not be selling to individuals even if they wanted to ... which they dont because its illegal.

brook2jack

In synopsis
it is illegal to supply anyone other than a dentist solutions containing more than 0.1% peroxide and anything less than this is worse than useless.

It is illegal for anyone other than a dentist to carry out tooth whitening.

Tooth whitening is not without risks and on the wrong person/teeth even using the right chemicals etc it can have permanent irreversible effects on general and dental health.

Buying chemicals over the internet means you are dealing with people who are engaging in an illegal trade, you have no guarantee that the chemicals are even what they are supposed to be (there have been problems in the past). You are going to put unknown chemicals at unknown strength inside your body in one of the most sensitive areas.

Whiter than white teeth are not more important than your general and dental health, if you can't afford to do it without risk, don't do it.

Recent cases have involved a company supplying tooth whitening chemicals closing down after damages awarded to a lady whose asthma was made permanently worse and other cases of burns to gums and teeth or damage to teeth that was permanent.

brook2jack

Forgot to say buying these chemicals if not a dentist is illegal in all of the EU, Australia, NZ and Canada. Many states in the US have also banned it though in theory that is where most supplies come from.

This is all because of long term worries about the safety of whitening on people not assessed by a dentist and who repeatedly whiten and therefore traumatise teeth and gums.