Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

Toothsmith

Dentists, and now hygienists (working to a dentist's prescription) are the only dental staff allowed to do whitening.

If she's a hygienist then this is OK. But she really should have given better instructions.

nish

Yup she's a hygenist.

I agree with the better instruction things.

Going to give it a blast in a bit. Thanks for your replies Toothsmith! They have been reassuring as I was a bit worried

Savvy_Sue

If it was hurting, I'd still be worried! Would rather have yellow teeth than damaged ones!

teethtester

Hi all.

This post is specifically for you wackojacko as you requested for an experience of this 'company'. I will give you a honest assessment of my experience with them the other day. (quite long)


Building:

When i arrived at 1o2 the first thing i realised is that IT IS a SALOON. Inside it has a small room where the 'treatment' takes place. The person who does the teeth whitening procedure looks like someone who has just graduated from university and has a few years of 'experience' behind him.

Price:

You have 2 options: £99 or the £155 treatment. The difference between the 2 is that the £155 treatment is more 'efficient' and only lasts 30mins whereas the cheaper option lasts longer

I proceded to ask him the following question:
Q. Wouldn't the shorter treatement compromise the quality?
A. No, the £155 option is a different product/method..or something similiar to this
I was a bit confused, but as i travelled this far i decided to taske the expensive option.

Procedure:

Well everything seemed fine, used the mouth guard, applied the whitening gel etc. However, as this is a saloon you often heard people coming in and out of the room, which i personally found annoying. After the 30min treatment he assessed my teeth and told me that my teeth were 3 tones ligher. Having looked at the mirror at the time i told him i was somewhat disapointed with the result. This prompted him to try again for a further 10 minutes, which i agree to.

results:

After the additional 10 minutes i looked in the mirror again. Suprisingly, at the time it did look like it had worked and my teeth were whiter. However, once i got home (2 hours) i just had to look again in the mirror but strangely my teeth looked exactly the same before the procedure?? Maybe I am suppose to leave it a couple of days? i really don't know. Perhaps its my teeth? i have no idea

Conclusion:

NOT RECOMMENDED guys, just blew £155. Also forgot to add: appointment was 3pm, and i got out at 4.30pm - total of 1hour 30? strange, i thought it was only a 30minute procedure + 15mins from the consultaion beforehand.

Hope this help you guys

if anyone has experienced somewhere much better with definite results, please leave or pm me the company name.

Thanks

George_Bray

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

My optician tells me if the contact lenses are unsuitable for me due to their particular level of moisture, etc. He also knows my previous prescription, that I got an corneal ulcer from extended wear lenses 5 years ago within the first week

I fear this is where your argument falls down a bit. If you mean you wore extended wear contact lens day and night for one or more days, then you're a bigger risk taker than I am. Yes, the manufacturers say the lens are designed for that. Yes, you say they were fitted by your optician. But, ultimately, I suggest you were misguided to go along with it. I would never sleep with any contact lens still in my eyes but I have bought and used teeth whitening materials over the Internet. I see the risks as so much lower, even if I use the whitening products without expensive medical supervision.

So, what I'm suggesting is that the most important thing to have is common sense, rather than paid professionals.

Pammy

I have spent the last 30 mins reading this thread and still feel non the wiser.

I'm about to go to a large event and want my teeth to be white, at the moment they are very discoloured and its embaressing. I hate smileing.

So yesterday I was on facebook and an advert kept popping up about a teeth whitening product that is 36% Hydrogen Peroxide. It was only £20 so I thought I would investigate. How can they get away with this if its not allowed in the UK? They say its safe on the FAQ.

But after doing google searches I have read everything from burns and now that the gel breaks down to free radicals that could be a cause of oral cancer.

The head is exploding with information. Then some dentists charge £99.00 for a laser whitening and then others £500

Then there are all the different prices and options for the teeth whitening gel ones.

I'm completely lost. I don't want to spend a fortune. I'm in London btw.

What price should one be paying and what is the best option?

Im not about to do ebay and the baking soda thing don't work for me.

Thanks

Toothsmith

Pammy wrote: »

I have spent the last 30 mins reading this thread and still feel non the wiser.

I'm about to go to a large event and want my teeth to be white, at the moment they are very discoloured and its embaressing. I hate smileing.

So yesterday I was on facebook and an advert kept popping up about a teeth whitening product that is 36% Hydrogen Peroxide. It was only £20 so I thought I would investigate. How can they get away with this if its not allowed in the UK? They say its safe on the FAQ.

But after doing google searches I have read everything from burns and now that the gel breaks down to free radicals that could be a cause of oral cancer.

The head is exploding with information. Then some dentists charge £99.00 for a laser whitening and then others £500

Then there are all the different prices and options for the teeth whitening gel ones.

I'm completely lost. I don't want to spend a fortune. I'm in London btw.

What price should one be paying and what is the best option?

Im not about to do ebay and the baking soda thing don't work for me.

Thanks

When was the last time you saw dentist?

Sometimes just a good clean and polish can transform things.

Pammy

About a month ago, just over.

I drink loads of coffee and recently stopped smoking.

I see these sites advertising stuff and some are obviously rubbish. Its like how can one place charge £99.00 for something, and then you have somelike like zoom at 200, and then others at 500

I guess my question is. What should I be looking for? Are there key things to avoid?

I know I should be sure its a proper dentist or hygenist carrying out any treatment.

But beyond that what REALLY works and is safe yet cost effective.

Toothsmith

The most reliable, longest lasting, least side effect way to do it will be with a dentist-supervised tray and gel system.

This will take about 6 weeks to get the full effect from beginning to end. Prices for tis can be £200-£500, but I would ask your own dentist about doing it rather than going anywhere else to get it done. If he doesn't do it, then ask him who he'd recommend.

If you've recently stopped smoking, you may well have an underlying gum problem, so anything you try yourself could easily make this worse. If your dentist is reluctant to do whitening, it could well be because he's worried about this, and thinks it may not be suitable for you just yet - but he should explain all this to you if that's the case.

If you are suitable, but want a quicker result, something like Zoom or Brightsmile, backed up with the tray and gel systems will produce an instant 'wow', but the problem with the laser systems ion their own is that the results can fade pretty quickly. Not all practices do this method though. I don't.

Laser + gel will be the most expensive way of doing it.

I cannot stress enough though the importance of dentist supervision.

The cosmetic 'boutiques' are gradually being closed down, but if you do come across one of these beautician whitening places, avoid like the plague.

moomin_white

Toothsmith wrote: »

The cosmetic 'boutiques' are gradually being closed down, but if you do come across one of these beautician whitening places, avoid like the plague.

or report them to the GDC! Call 0207 009 2773 or email illegalpractice@gdc-uk.org