Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

Toothsmith

The thing that I'm wary of is that this stuff SHOULDN'T be available to the general public, which means that if a site is selling it direct to the general public, then there is something wrong somewhere.

I will grant you that it looks a very impressive, very official site, but that just means it has a good web designer.

Polanight is not a system I'm familiar with, so I don't know where your dentist is likely to get his supplies.

I agree that it will be in his interests to get you to buy from him, but I have too many alarm bells ringing for me to be able to say go ahead and get some from this site.

I cannot advise you do this, and so 'on your own head be it'.

That's all I can say.

silvercar

Thanks, not an immediate concern as my dentist has supplied enough for the initial 3 week treatment, I was just thinking of top-ups in the future.

desperation_2

I am thinking of having my teeth whitened and have read all (44 pages at present!!), of this post, and would really like to thank Toothsmith for all his comments and advice to the posters here over a number of years.

Thank You and reading all the posts I now know which way to go....

My Dentist!!! Your honesty and support is greatly appreciated. ! And I was nearly going to spend a considerable amount of money on 'whitening' toothpastes :mad: (waste of money) and other internet concoctions!?

:T

kennyparkroad

tooth.

i agree that mark seemed to be more than a customer.

i had my lower left molar wisdom tooth out a week past on Tuesday........ and my mouth is still giving me some pain, and sharp pain going up my face to my head.........

ive put it down as a nerve problem but my dentist when she took the xrays said the nerve was nowhere near which is why she was happy to go ahead and do it.

but i was also told it could take 2 weeks for it to stop being painful.

any advice?

ps - im only taking painkillers at night now, havent taken them during the day for about 3 days, so i know its improving.

Toothsmith

Wisdom teeth can take a while to settle down properly.

It's good that you're needing less and less painkillers. When you're in pain, it seems like it's been there forever, and will probably always be there! But in a few days time I'm sure you'll have forgotten all about it.

If anything takes a turn for the worst, then get back and see the dentist again, but so long as it's improving, you'll just need to ride it out.

kennyparkroad

thanks for your reply

as the swelling as went down i am positive i can feela part of bone with my tongue, but its below where the wisdom tooth was and closer to my teeth that are still there.

i guess everything will turn out ok in the end.

im going away in August so changed my 21st July root treatment to 18th Aug when i get back :-D

thanks again

bairn7

Hi Everyone,I thought I'd post on here to tell my experience of the whitening process in teh hope that it may help others as there always seem to be the same questions popping up but not a lot of first hand experiences. I posted around a month ago as I had arranged an appointment with a company called Dentawhite and was confused as to whether tooth whitening had to be carried out by a registered dentist.After contacting the consumer direct and the GDC, it has been confirmed that it is not illegal for non-registered dentists to perform laser whitening. As a solicitor, I have found recent case law to confirm this (Optident Ltd v SoS for Trade and industry [House of Lords - 2001]). Therefore, I believe that some of the comments on this forum are very misleading in this regard. There is absolutely nothing illegal about beauty salons etc carrying out cosmetic whitening.Nevertheless, I was uncomfortable about a non-dentist carrying out the procedure so I contacted dentawhite and they were very reasuring and agreed to refund my deposit as a gesture of goodwill. As a company they seemed very professional and, were it not for my personal dentist concerns, I have no doubt that they are a reputable company in this field.So I decided to go with Zoom Whitening through a registered dentist instead. I had read on various websites that this procedure causes sharp shooting pains in most patients which lasts for 24 to 48 hours. The process involves 3 20 minute blasts of light after applying whitening agent directly to the teeth. After the second of these sessions, I started experiencing short sharp pains (the best description I can give is like sticking your teeth in ice-cream). This got progressively worse to the point that I could not continue the process on my bottom row of teeth for the third session.My dentist provided me with desensitising gel but this did little to help. The pains persisted, happening once every 2 or 3 minutes for around 6 to 10 hours for me and were going by the time I went to bed. The pain came on without warning and lasted only a second or two at a time. In the grand scheme of things, I definitely feel the pain was worth it I as have a nice sparkling set of knashers now! I am aware that some people have no pain at all and some people no doubt have worse pain than me, so it is a risk you take no matter which procedure you opt for. Having spoken to dentists and beauticians at dentawhite I have no doubt that you will get similar results and care whatever type of treatment you opt for. There seems to be some kind of argument between dentists and non-dentists regarding this treatment so please beware about some of the comments on this board regarding non-dentists carrying out this procedure (having looked into the matter I see nothing wrong with non-dentists carrying out this type of procedure - although no doubt I will have some people posting to disagree with me!).I hope this helps some people who are thinking about having a whiteining procedure done. Please note that I have no connection to either dentawhite or Zoom. Any questions, feel free to PM me.PS sorry for the big block text, I put paragraphs in when I type but doesn't seem to work when I post!!! :)bairn7

Toothsmith

The GDC told you it was OK???

How do you explain this page from the GDC website then?

http://www.gdc-uk.org/General+public/Tooth+Whitening

And the dedicated email address for members of the public to report illegal tooth whitening salons?

And the fact that two places I have personally reported have been closed down within weeks?

I have said nothing misleading - maybe you should check you facts a little better. Your case report is hardly 'recent'. The debate has moved a long way since 2001.

bairn7

I'm not looking to get into a debate over dentist/non-dentist whitening, I'm simply giving my unbiased opinion into the matter having conducted my own resarch at the time and speaking to both the GDC and the salons. Whilst I appreciate your advice, I got the clear impression from your previous response that any non-dentist whitening process was illegal when this is clearly not the case. Although I stand to be corrected if you can cite some authority (and, with respect, GDC guidance doesn't count as authority when you have a House of Lords decision to the contrary).

Whilst the case I have referred to is from 2001 (and recent in my view) there have been no subsequent cases the contradict the ruling. The House of Lords ruled that whitening products were "cosmetic". I appreciate that there are polarised opinions as to whether non-dentists SHOULD carry out this procedure, but no matter what your opinion is, non-dentists CAN carry out the procedure in terms of the law, at least in my view.

It all depends on whether you wish to run the risk of going to a salon as opposed to a dental surgery. I personally did not want to take the risk of something going wrong and there being no-one there suitably trained to remedy any problems...but if you are willing to take the risk, I can't see anything wrong or illegal about going to a salon.

As I say, I respect your advice toothsmith, but I think people should fully look into the situation before making the decision whether to go to a salon or surgery to have their teeth whitened. A simple google of the matter will provide a wealth of information.

PS I'd be interested about hearing other people's experiences with Zoom and other laser whitening procedures. I think it would help other people to make the decision about which route to go down for whitening.

silvercar

PS I'd be interested about hearing other people's experiences with Zoom and other laser whitening procedures. I think it would help other people to make the decision about which route to go down for whitening.

I'm half way through my whitening programme. Supervised by my dentist:)

I had "gum shields" made to fit my teeth and have a gel to use every evening. After 5 out of 21 sessions, I and my family have noticed my teeth are noticably whiter. The only slight discomfort I have is around the gum margin when I brush my teeth.

BTW, I was advised to choose the long haul rather than the quick zoom, as its supposed to be longer lasting and easy to top up.