Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

Lady_K

Wow yes I never thought of that. She has actually now left but did work there for about 3 months. She hardly ever saw the boss just had contact through the phone, she had the keys to the shop and ran the place yet she had never met the man before she went for the job interview. She has no gcses, no qualifications and has had about 30 jobs since she left school. It made me realise just how unsafe these places are. She got bored and changed jobs again guess it was lucky this time.

Toothsmith

Lady_K wrote: »

Wow yes I never thought of that. She has actually now left but did work there for about 3 months. She hardly ever saw the boss just had contact through the phone, she had the keys to the shop and ran the place yet she had never met the man before she went for the job interview. She has no gcses, no qualifications and has had about 30 jobs since she left school. It made me realise just how unsafe these places are. She got bored and changed jobs again guess it was lucky this time.

This is indeed a wake up call for anyone who fancies the idea of getting their teeth whitened at a 'salon' like that. And shows why the GDC is trying hard to close them down.

It's telling that the 'owner' kept at such a distance from the place. He obviously doesn't want to have any association with the place in case the nasty brown stuff hits the fan.

giddykipper

Anyone know of any natural ways of whitening teeth?

I did read somewhere that brushing with crushed strawberries should help - how would that work - any ideas??

Thanks

Jo x

Gingham_Ribbon

I've moved this to the health and beauty board where you should get more response.

whatatwit

I think the strawberries would do more harm than good, as they are acidic and may cause damage to the enamel on your teeth.

There is a whole thread dedicated to tooth whitening and the pro's and con's of a DIY or a beauty salon treatment.

Your best option would be to consult your dentist at your next check up and if whitening is needed over and above a clean and polish, then they are best qualified to advise you.

You may find a cheap option, but it may cost you dearly in the long ri=un.

I'm sure Toothsmith will be along with some words of wisdom later.

ashlea170706

Hi dipping your toothbruswh in bicarbonate of soda is meant to help and then brushing your teeth with this then bruh=shing normally after! hope this helps ash x

Toothsmith

giddykipper wrote: »

Anyone know of any natural ways of whitening teeth?

I did read somewhere that brushing with crushed strawberries should help - how would that work - any ideas??

Thanks

Jo x

It works by the acid in the fruit taking off a layer of enamel.

You don't grow that layer back again, so a few goes at that, and you'd not have any enamel left.

I have seen the same suggested using various bits of lemon. That too is not good for your teeth.

Bicarb isn't a bad stain remover, but that only gives an appearence of whitening.

To whiten teeth, you need something that will penetrate the enamel and alter the colour of the dentine underneath. Nothing 'natural' exists that will do this. Go and speak to your dentist if it is important to you to change the colour of your teeth. (Without permanently damaging them that is!)

giddykipper

Hhhhm yes I have spoken to my dentist who said that professional teeth whitening would set me back around £350 ........ which is why I was wondering about something natural, they're not badly discoloured, its just that I have a white 'blob' (technical term that!) on one of my front ones which makes the rest look more off-white IYSWIM.

The other alternative is for him to do a very thin filling over the top of my 'blob' that will blend in with the rest of the tooth at a cost of around £40.

In view of there not being a natural remedy then I think the filling idea will be the one to go for! At least that way they wont look as discoloured as they currently do.

Thanks for your replies.

Toothsmith

Bear in mind that the filling will stain and then look like a brown 'blob' on your teeth, and so it will need replacing every few years. (How often is impossibe to say before it's actually done - as everyone builds up stain at different rates).

Whitening though, may affect both the white 'blob' and the rest of the teeth to the same extent, so you might not gain anything that way either!

Be guided by what the dentist who can see it thinks.

~daisy~_2

i have been investigating having my teeth whitened for some time now - have used crest white strips and bidded on a few gosmile kits on ebay -

however a dentist friend gave me a talking to - so i asked my own dentist and he quoted me £300 for making the trays and the bleaching product itself

does this seem reasonable to you ?

also ive seen other ppl say just ask your dentist to charge you for the trays and then buy the bleach yourself off ebay ? has anyne done this or is it majorly cheeky ??

TIA