Smile! Professional tooth whitening options?

February 22, 2006 3:26 AM

Thinking seriously about professional (i.e. NOT over the counter Whitestrips, etc.) tooth whitening and am interested in hearing other people's experiences and recommendations...

I've done the strips and goops and haven't really noticed enough difference to make all the trouble worthwhile. I also did the dentist-issued goop about 8 years ago (with personalized tooth guard to hold it in place) and wasn't really that excited by what I saw.

I know things have changed a bit since then, so I'm interested in hearing what professional route of the many available might be the best to go. Note, I'm in New York City, so there are a bunch of options.

posted by LGCNo6 to health & fitness (13 comments total)

From what I hear, the laser whitening does a really really good job. But I haven't scraped up the cash to get it done myself yet.
posted by antifuse at 3:59 AM on February 22, 2006

I'm thinking of doing it myself, but the service my dentist provides is "take home". They create moulds of your teeth and for two weeks you use a whitening liquid in the mould while you sleep. It is supposed to be just as good as the laser method, but at more than half the cost.

I still haven't decided. I'll keep an eye on this question before I make a decision.
posted by purephase at 4:41 AM on February 22, 2006

I have done the bleaching with a mouthpiece method and had very good success. I spanned a lenghthier than normal time because I wasn't bleaching everyday. I found my teeth were getting too sensitive. After several weeks I had reached my color (never whiter than the whites of your eyes) and had some bleach leftover.

My mother, in her 60's and a non-smoker, had the laser treatment done and I could hardly tell the difference.
posted by wondergreen at 5:21 AM on February 22, 2006

Purephase, that's what I did and didn't have great results from it. That's why I'm interested in other options... .
posted by LGCNo6 at 5:28 AM on February 22, 2006

I had Britesmile, and the difference was amazing. But your teeth dry out during the process (common) and you can experience significant soreness for the next 4-8 hours while your teeth rehydrate. It helped me to brush with "sensitive teeth" toothpaste when I got home, and sip at a glass of warm water.
posted by Merdryn at 6:08 AM on February 22, 2006

My dentist uses the Opalescence system of teeth molds and gels. The results were pretty good. Takes a few weeks to see great results, though.
The trick, though, is to also change your habits in order to keep your teeth white after successful treatment. Coffee, teas, smoking, etc. All are enemies of white teeth.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:06 AM on February 22, 2006

Something else to consider: When I broached this subject, my dentist brought up the point that I've got fillings in my front teeth. They'd have to replaced so as match the newly whitened teeth. What modest interest I had dissipated instantly.
posted by mojohand at 7:51 AM on February 22, 2006

I did Britesmile like Merdryn had. Mine was in November and although I had the yellowing from antibiotics as a child and still visible "prints" of where my braces had been as a teenager it worked wonders.

The worker was incredible, focused on areas, re-did some sections until he was satisfied. He explained I could come in for a touching up of the fronts later if I wanted or do a second treatment in 6 months if I want to entirely rid myself of the braces shadow if it snuck back.
So far it's among the best things I've ever bought myself for personal visual improvement.

I did take tylenol as I recall and I had a zap or ping of sudden "stop everything, whoa!" pain the first two days at random but they were short bursts.

It was a great experience overall. I let people take pictures of me now. Also, as a phone phobe I was overjoyed to find a center and book entirely online.
posted by mztreskiki at 8:27 AM on February 22, 2006

I did the Crest Platinum Overnight professional whitening system... It's the type where the dentist makes you a mouthpeice and you fill it with goo every night and wear it. It cost me like $200.

One strong warning I have, if you go this route, ask for or about fluoride treatments before you start. I didn't, and the first night I wore them, a bit after I laid down to go to sleep, I felt a sudden horrible zing inside a tooth, like someone was directly jabbing the nerve inside. Then after a minute another tooth, and few minutes later, another.

It was explained to me that your teeth have tubules that run from the root area of your tooth and should be plugged by fluoride, but my fluoride was depleated, allowing the whitening stuff to make its way down to the nerve area. I ended up having to alternate fluoride treatments with the whitening.

My results though were very good. I was just looking for a natural color (was having two caps put in the front of my mouth and since I was going to be stuck with whatever color I chose, I wanted it to be something of a decent color). I saw incredible, noticeable-to-others results the first night. Must have been several shades whiter. Afterwards there was a lesser effect, but still noticeable to me.

Because of the pain, and the fact that I wasn't interested in crazy white teeth, I only used two of the five tubes of whitening goo that the dentist gave me. It allowed me to get caps that were a natural white and not yellow, so I'm happy with how it turned out.
posted by FortyT-wo at 8:57 AM on February 22, 2006

If you decide to do one of these treatments, find a way to measure your progress and remain aware of it. Don't get obsessed with having whiter and whiter teeth. A person I know was quite obsessed with her teeth (and had a few other body image issues to boot) and got them whitened just a few too many times. And now, sweet Moses, those teeth are blue. Not Smurf blue, but a very subtle, eerie, translucent, glowing blue. Crrrrreepy.
posted by lilybeane at 9:31 AM on February 22, 2006

I've considered the various options on occasion, though my body image concerns are pretty tiny compared to my cheapskate nature. My biggest concern is that I'm simply not going to give up coffee and tea - so what's the impact going to be to any progress in one, six and twelve months?
posted by phearlez at 10:30 AM on February 22, 2006

I did the dentist-issued goop with mouthpieces a number of years ago, and it eventually worked but took a LONG time. I had to wear it for at least 6 hours at a time, every single day for weeks to get any results.

I did it again last year and found that the "goop" has been altered significantly and is a lot more effective. If you did it 8 years ago, it's worth it to give it another go. Same brand, same mouthpieces, etc., but this time I only had to wear it for 20 minutes at a time for it to work. If I want whiter teeth for a special occassion, I can put it in for 20 minutes two days in a row and they'll be perfectly white again, despite daily coffee consumption.
posted by booknerd at 10:34 AM on February 22, 2006

Before going the professional route I'd snag GoSmile.

Awesome results in very little time, especially if you use the B1 formula.

Same results as if you'd had it done professionally. I'm glad someone hipped me to it.

Here's a link.
posted by seeminglyshy at 12:47 PM on February 22, 2006