Smile Bright Store: worth it?

October 24, 2012 12:07 PM

Does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, with the Smile Bright Store and their teeth-whitening products?

There is a Amazon Local deal for $39 for their kit, and I've been thinking about whitening my teeth for awhile now. I have some bad staining between my front teeth from black tea. Is this a decent deal?

I also have moderately sensitive teeth, which is why I've never whitened them. I understand whitening can cause some sensitivity and I think I'm almost OK with that, considering how bad the stains look.

(I searched AskMe for "smile bright" and got one comment result that had nothing to do with this, so if this has been asked before, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find it!)

posted by fiercecupcake to health & fitness (2 answers total)

I haven't used Smile Bright, but have been a customer of Ultra-White, which looks somewhat similar, for several years. Both Mr. DrGail and I made our own bleaching trays, using their kit. While my dentist was originally a bit miffed that we had bypassed them and saved so much money that otherwise would have gone to her practice, she acknowledged that the results were just as good at a lower cost, and that the peroxide gel was the same as what they sold. The hygienist recommended no greater than 22% carbamide peroxide, though, especially if there are sensitivity issues. And FWIW, I was able to reduce some of the sensitivity by using the trays every other day, and brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste.
posted by DrGail at 12:49 PM on October 24, 2012

Carbamide peroxide is what bleaches teeth. It used to be that higher percentages of peroxide were only available to patients by prescription, and therefore could only be sold by a dentist. because the effects seem mostly to be temporary, this has changed, by and large.
surface stains need to be removed mechanically, and don't really bleach. old fillings and porcelain don't bleach at all.
39 bucks is no great sacrifice for most, so give it a go and see what your result is, but bear in mind that a good thorough cleaning by a hygienist to remove that tea stain will probably be necessary as well.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:55 PM on October 24, 2012