My tooth whitening journey

moneylover

Long threads on here over the years - questions about tooth whitening both do it yourself and professional so thought as I am going through the process of tooth whitening as I write, I would post a kind of diary....

I am having professional whitening (cost £500) the system is Enlighten. I settled on this rather than Zoom because their literature suggests that sensititivy is minimal and I felt that their package combination of trays at home, followed by in house whitening, might give me the best chance of asuccessful result.

It has taken me a long time to decide to go ahead, because basically I am really afraid of extreme sensitivity in my teeth, they are a bit sensitive anyway so I can imagine how it could be. In the end I have just had to go ahead, I am 66 but look younger apart from my teeth, they are so bad I would never, for example, wear a white t shirt! I dont know why they are like this,maybe some teeth more porous than others? I dont smoke, drink much red wine or eat much curry or highly coloured processed foods. My dental hygiene is fine.

I dont know anyone who has had tooth whitening and who could tell me about it,but that hasnt mattered - I have asked lots of questions on here and ourwonderful dentists have always replied.

So, first of all the impressions, then a week ago I got my gel like trays. I have two lots of peroxide, one is 10% theother 16% - you use the lower concentration for one week then the stronger.

The first night the trays felt horrible. Absolutely huge . My instinct was to bite into them – maybe I subconsciously wanted to make them smaller! I was terrified I might bitethem in the night and ruin them. But Iwent to sleep eventually and the trays were intact in the morning! They are tight and well fitting. The peroxide is made to taste like toothpaste but there is a not so pleasant undertaste. In the first few minutes some gel squeezes out - after a night or two you get better at estimating the quantity to put in the trays. And, after the first night the trays were fine, barely notice they are there. Hurrah!

So, have just completed week one. No sensitivity at all. I do have some sensitivity swabs to use but not needed them yet. Are my teeth whiter? No, but they look brighter, the way they do when you have just been to the hygienist.

Last night was first day with stronger gel. Still no sensitivity. Gel much betterat staying where you put it, presumably because its slightly thicker. Teeth look about the same today but , ofcourse its a bit like watching the hands of a clock go round.....

The idea is that the first two weeks prepare your teeth for the chairside session which, I believe, is 23% bleach. You can then use yourtrays again to top up regularly.

Whilst you are carrying out the treatment you should eat nothing that would stain a shirt. When I have the in house session then its definitely white food for 24 hours. But for the two weeks of home treatment I am just being v careful - certainly no tea or coffee - in fact I have just water to drink. Food wise am avoiding anything coloured the best I can - eating veg such as parnsnips, onions, light colooured cabbage etc. Chicken and white fish and cheese are a mainstay. Its a bit like a diet except that you can eat some bread and plainish cake!

Will post again the day I finish the home bleaching and report on any good result, then finish off with a post on the chairside treatment.

Well done if you have read this far!

SRH_2

Thanks for this. Way out of my price range but interested to see how it goes.

ali-t

I had whitening done using trays from my dentist and initially didn't think there was much change, a bit brighter but not whiter. This was until I pulled my mouth open very wide and looked at the teeth not covered by the tray (my tray is only the width of my smile as dentist said not much point in whitening the ones no-one sees) and the difference is huuuuge! This is a great reference point for me as although my teeth aren't great they are a million times better than they were.

My teeth are pretty sensitive and I was worried about pain but didn't get any.

Good luck and I look forward to reading about your journey.

moneylover

Ali-T yes, I only do the teeth that will show, but in my case thats most of them. Can I ask what system your dentist uses?

One thing to report in my 'diary' is that I still have no discomfort in teeth but the inside of my top lip feels a bit 'burnt' almost as though it might blister - probably this is because my top teeth v prominent and my top lip rests quite firmly against the
tray. I rang dentist who said put some damp cotton wool between tray and lip tonight. If worse I have to nip in and see him. Glad I used my own local dentist! I had considered 'special' offers from other dentists

ali-t

My dentist uses the white dental products from optident.co.UK for their site although they don't/can't sell direct to the public.

Could your lip be sore from the gel that has oozed out. I used minimal gel and from memory it was around day 10 that I really noticed a difference. My syringes lasted around 3 weeks as my dentist told me to go easy on the gel.

I was also advised to wash the mouth guards in cold water each day as hot water would distort them but even with doing this mine feel much looser now. I think its from grinding my teeth and sucking against them in my sleep.

I think I paid around £260 and was very pleased with the outcome. I have a white filling on my front tooth that I got as a child and it really looked bright against the grotty colour of my teeth but it blends in much better now. I'm interested in whether I can get them any lighter, its quite addictive!

moneylover

tonight will be 10th night of whitening. Underneath of top lip very sore. Using Bonjela which eases discomfort. Putting damp cottonwool between tray and lip for 10 mins or so when trays first going in. But dont like the idea of leaving it there and going to sleep
Teeth definitely whiter I have to stop myself looking in the mirror!

Am going to ask dentist how frequently I can use trays after in house treatment although will have to find a way around the sore mouth.

ali-t

Are you maybe using too much gel? There shouldn't be any oozing out.

It shouldn't matter if you take a couple of days out to let your lip heal and then go back to it

Toothsmith

Moneylover,

I have to say I'm not a fan of this thread.

Your tooth whitening should really be between you and the dentist.

Any hints and tips your dentist gives you are appropriate to you - and the danger is that somebody reading this will think that it would be OK for them to do the same, without really asking the person who should be advising them - i.e. their dentist.

Plus, the 'handy tips' people are giving you on here may not be appropriate to you - and the person you should be contacting is your own dentist.

Already you seem to be putting bonjella on this sore lip when the dentist has clearly told you to go back if it remains a problem.

There are several possible reasons why this soreness might still be happening, but the person to look at it and diagnose it is your dentist, not an assortment of goodness knows who on an internet forum.

I am going to flag this thread up to the moderators to see what they think, but I think this treatment should be between you and your dentist - not the world in general.

lolly5648

I am very grateful to Moneylover for posting about the day to day experience of tooth whitening which I find very interesting. I have been thinking about having this done and discussed it with my dentist at my last appointment, especially with regard to sensitivity. He dismissed my fears and said it rarely occurred, which is not what I have heard.

I find Moneylover's post very informative and look forward to hearing about the final result after the in-house treatment. I don't really think people are going to blindly follow any hints or tips they read about on a forum, they will use their common sense.

Toothsmith, you are obviously a very caring dentist and your patients are lucky. My dentist is good but has no bedside manner and does not understand why patients are frightened by treatments. I have to have root canal work and when I asked about the injections, pain etc he just said he could give me a couple of diazepam to take beforehand.

I would be unhappy if this thread was deleted by the moderators.

Toothsmith

Could I ask that people stop posting hints and tips on the (minor) problems that are being encountered then, and that Moneylover contacts her dentist about the problems and lets us know if they've been solved or not - not the details of how they were solved?

phildallier

Good luck from france moneylover !!