My tooth whitening journey

GlynD

Toothsmith wrote: »

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.

I think the thread is very helpful because I was thinking of getting this very treatment and I am glad someone else is taking the time to tell me all about their experiences with it.

busiscoming2

Thanks for the post Moneylover. I would love to have this done but worry that once I start I'd then feel compelled to do it for the rest of my teeth's life. It worries me that it could cause major issues in the future (surely long term use of bleach isn't good?).

moneylover

Toothsmith
I started this 'diary' in good faith, because so many people ask questions about tooth whitening but there are precious few threads from people who have had it done.
Of course my experience is 'individual' but I am posting to people on a forum I have used for years to people who generally use this forum wisely; they are not going to think that the path they travel will be identical. By all means run the thread past the moderators if you remain uneasy- I don't believe it breaks any rules.

On the subject of 'tips' I am perfectly capable of judging whether someone else's suggestion is sensible or not. Its pretty obvious that I probably 'overdid' the gel a couple of nights - the amount going into the trays is not the easiest thing to assess. And using Bonjella is actually something I checked with my dentist over the phone, plus using a damp cotton wool pad to protect my lip. My dentist would have seen me but the surgery was flooded out and consequently shut.

Any problems reported should, in fact, make people think its better, (as I decided to do) to use your own dentist rather than looking for a special offer that may be 20 miles away.

Anyway, am on cloud nine at present, people I work with can def see the difference now.

One of the questions I plan to ask my dentist after the in house treatment is whether its possible to go on with the tray and get any whiter. Also how often you should use the trays once you have reached an optimum level - I agree it could be tempting to go on and on, but am sure that may not be wise. On the other hand, one night every three months or so which is what Enlighten seems to suggest, seems a very light touch. The dentist did say to me that top up could be with the stronger of the two home gels - its quite cheap - 12 pounds a syringe which would possibly last circa 10 days or so. I also plan to ask the dentist whether any of the so called whitening toothpastes on the market are worth using. Enlighten do have a toothpaste product which they suggest you use a couple of weeks beforehand to prepare teeth but that was not offered to me as part of the package.

I will be back!

moneylover

Well, all over and done with!
Went to dentist 14 days after using trays and he confirmed I had lightened 9 shades with trays! Then had the in house treatment which was two twenty minute sessions with my trays using hydrogen peroxide -this lightened teeth another 3-4 shades. Unfortunately there is discolouring deep in one of my front teeth, the dentist thought that it would go but it didnt go completely, just lightened in the same ratio as other teeth. So dentist suggested I whitened for another 4 days, two days just whitening the one tooth then trays on all teeth. Did this but no real further change so I suspect I have reached my lightest. Popped back to see dentist, he thinks that perhaps I knocked the tooth at some time (maybe when young as I dont remember it)and that the tooth is actually damaged slightly inside.
Still, its a good result - my teeth are not that nice almost transulescent white though - they are very cream. But then I am 66 so am not going to get a wyoung looking result. I suppose I would describe my teeth as average now, I dont think of them as discoloured but no way are they whiter than average.
Of course, the challenge is going to be keeping them this colour. I dont drink coffee or red wine and so the main thing is to keep tea drinking to a minimum and stay away from chillis, bolognaise and curry. Have become quite fond of hot water to drink! My dentist suggested a phial of whitening every 3 months but I suspect I will want to whiten at least every two months in order to keep my teeth much the shade they are now. It isnt as cheap as I thought, I expected that a phial of the carbomide peroxide (£12) would be a weeks worth, but its not, its only 3-4 days worth. Still in terms of the overall cost its well worth spending out to maximise the long termedness of the result.
I dont think I can post a photo on here? But if anyone wants to see what Enlighten achieved for me then send me a pm.
One very good thing - even the surgery whitening gave me no sensitivity at all, yet I do have a couple of two very sensitive teeth