Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

donteatthat

LADY_A wrote: »

thanks toothsmith and dont eat that
can i ask what the enlightment treatment involves? is it permenant??

thanks

Enlighten is done with making a "supersealed" tray which is highly effective at keeping the bleach in and against the tooth (much more so than a normal tray) and then after 14 nights of home whitening you come into the surgery for 2 x 20mins of whitening with a stronger product. It's not permament, nor is any whitneing system so will need to be topped up at various points. This is easily done with the trays. But I have found the results have been better even with just the home phase than any other system I have used previously (and I have tested a lot being a girly!!) which makes me feel that the results will last for longer as a greater change in whiteness means longer before a top up is required. Top ups can usually be done every 6 months for a couple of nights and are no big deal.

Savvy_Sue

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I'll move this to the Health and Beauty Board. You might want to take a look at this thread - Tooth whitening discussion

I'll merge you into it. All you ever wanted to know ...

PM

I found this place in east london offering white spa laser treatment for £99 and what they call beyond accelerate 30 mins for £125. It says special offer but Im wondering if its to good to be true. Do they have to be part of any professional body or anything :S

any help?

Toothsmith

They have to be dentists at least.

If it's a beauty place, then it's illegal practice of dentistry and should be reported.

There was quite a rush of these places over the past 18 months, but now they're gradually being closed down.

Hence the 'special offers' - they're probably getting rid of the stock they were sold by someone who didn't mention it was illegal!!

pillypilla

Hi, was gonna start this thread so glad I checked 1st. I'm due to get my teeth whitened next month at the dentist and I'm going for the BriteSmile option. It's got some good reviews and some not so good. It's a lot of money, £575, so I was wondering if anyone else has had experience of this? I'm going for this as I don't fancy the idea of sleeping with gum shields on for 2wks! It only takes about an hour.
Also, it's something I've always wanted done, as using minocycline (a derivative of the tetracycline antibiotic)when I was younger and had acne, has really discoloured my teeth and it totally effects my self-esteem, as you can imagine. I graduate on 24th Jan so just wanted to look genuinely happy and proud of my photos on the big day. Any comments/feedback would be really appreciated. x

Toothsmith

I assume your dentist has already assessed you for this treatment then? If so, any advice he/she gives you will be much more accurate than advice given by anyone who hasn't seen you.

Generally, the 'quick' treatments give good instant 'wow' - excellent for things like graduation photos - but the effects don't last as long as the more permanent change built up by the weeks of trays and gel.

I really wouldn't think of them as 'gumshields' as they're really thin. Personally, I get patients to do them one at a time as well, so a couple of weeks with the top one, and then a couple of weeks with the bottom one.

Tetracycline staining is serious if you take it as a very young child - <2yrs old. It gets taken up by the forming teeth and you are left with very brown/grey teeth.

Taken when older doesn't stain the teeth internally, and any stain caused should polish off pretty easily without the need for whitening.

Now is a bit late for the tray/gel system with your graduation being on 24th though. You could always get your graduation photo photo-shopped though, and do your teeth more gradually.

As I said though, I haven't seen your teeth. The dentist recommending the Britesmile has.

pillypilla

Thanks for the advice, Toothsmith. My consultation is next week and have only provisionally booked the Britesmile as it's dependant on what she says. I wrote the above post without taking the time to look at previous contributions from others, now that I have (apart from swaying me slightly from my decision) it's thrown up some things I'm unsure of.......
I am suspecting (though it will be confirmed next week) that I also have enamel/calcium hypoplasia. If I went for the tray system at some stage, would the prolonged period of teeth being in contact strong bleach not do more harm, eg make them sensitive? I realise I'm after a quick fix but would prefer something long-lasting (despite the passion-killer mouth accessories!). It seems enlighten has good reviews but I will also ask about laser treatment (crikey, decisions decisions!) If they weren't so outrageously expensive I'd just have veneers and be done!x

Toothsmith

The gel/tray system is not a very strong bleach. It works gently and slowly.

The britesmile stuff is much stronger.

I can't get specific as to what's best for you without seeing your teeth.

pillypilla

OK, have just booked a free consultation for the Enlighten treatment (the BriteSmile one is £35). Just gonna see what the two dentists have to say (and hope they aren't gonna turn into sales people and tell me any old tripe just to get my custom!) and take it from there really. I think it's better to have more than one by way of a comparison. The Enlighten is also £575.
I appreciate the fact that, regardless of other people singing the praises of a particular treatment, what might have worked brilliantly for them may not work so well for someone else. At the end of the day, everyone's teeth are unique to them and only the dentist examining them can really make the best judgement. So I'll let you know how I get on, just incase there's someone else in a similar situation who would find it helpful following my 'journey'.;)

Ronni

Hi, I am almost frightened to add to this thread as I am one of the people who spent their hard earned cash on a toothwhitening machine after being convinced that it was legal for me to use it in salons. I am now left with £20k worth of equipment which I am apparently not qualified to use, can anybody advise me on how I go about getting my money back or where I can sell the equipment legally?