Teeth Whitening Help

[AnonChick]

Your dentist gave you Crest and Colgate, and those were "special" toothpastes you used a week before the Zoom? Did you have to use both? Together or one daytime and one night, and how were they special?

[Green Irish Eyes]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

Your dentist gave you Crest and Colgate, and those were "special" toothpastes you used a week before the Zoom? Did you have to use both? Together or one daytime and one night, and how were they special?

She said the dentist gave her "a" (meaning *one*) special toothpaste.

More likely, Crest and Colgate are the products she referenced here:

I tried the over the counter stuff, nothing really worked that well. And when I drank coffee or red wine my teeth stained.

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by Dark of the Moon

She said the dentist gave her "a" (meaning *one*) special toothpaste.

More likely, Crest and Colgate are the products she referenced here:

That was very unclear, since she didn't say she tried over the counter toothpastes, she tried over the counter stuff (in reference to tooth whitening products).

I'm thinking more on the order that Vauvegirl just didn't understand the question. Perhaps we might let her answer it for herself.

[Info Guy]

So thank God my sensitivity is gone when I wake up this morning. I am going for my second strip soon.

I use Sensodyne : Active ingredients: Potassium Nitrate 5% (for antihypersensitivity), Sodium fluoride 0.145% w/v fluoride ion (for anticavity)

Also, I use 1.1% Sodium Flouride gel.

[VWBuggy]

Crest just came out with a new whitening toothpaste. I cannot remember the name but it comes in a bright red tube.

I have the tooth whitening trays and gel from the dentist. I saw results in the first two days. I love how white my teeth are. You should only use the tooth whitening product from your dentist. Do NOT buy the other stuff they sell online. It can burn your gums and cause your teeth to "zing".

[pumpkin5]

I just received info in the mail from my dentist about Kor whitening. Apparently it works good for patients with sensitive teeth you only do it once and it last a lifetime?! It is expensive around $600.00. I'm going to ask about when I go in for my appointment in Nov. probably too expensive for me but I'm curious.

[AnonChick]

According to their website, you go to the dentist's office, he makes you a tray. You take the gel, and the tray, and go home and use it every night while you're sleeping for two weeks. Then you return to the dentist's office and he does something else. And you have to do periodic home maintenence (no idea what constitutes "periodic" to them, I didn't read that far onto the page).

Supposedly, it costs the dentist less in materials and labor, and the website brags about how the dentist can profit more by charging the same price for other whitening treatments even though it costs him less.

In other words, it's a sales gimmick. I'd avoid it, UNLESS:

1. you have badly stained teeth with no veneers, crowns, or a bridge (since those would have to be changed to match your new white teeth, and that can be stupidly expensive).
2. your dentist charges _less_ because it costs *him* less

It also insists, throughout the amount of text I did read, that this would get your teeth white. "Naturally white." Up to 16 shades lighter, and white. White white white. They were very emphatic about using that word.

Problem: teeth aren't naturally white. If your teeth are white, there's something wrong. Teeth are any of several shades of pale ivory, naturally.

But if you have badly stained teeth (such as from smoking, or tetracycline), and you can find it -cheaper- than Zoom, there might be some benefit to you.

[pumpkin5]

Nope they are not badly stained just not as white as they use to be. Thanks for the info I do not want that unnatural too white look and I have several crowns so that is a factor.

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by pumpkin5

Nope they are not badly stained just not as white as they use to be. Thanks for the info I do not want that unnatural too white look and I have several crowns so that is a factor.

Since you have several crowns, you might try asking some other dentist (not one that sells the "product of the month" just because some salesman recommended he'd get rich from it), about tooth-specific peroxide treatments. I don't know if such a thing exists, but I've wondered about it myself. I have two teeth that are a little darker than my front bridge, and I wouldn't mind getting them just a few shades lighter so they don't seem quite so "shadowed." But the only things I know of for that is things requiring the use of trays, and whitening strips. But that just seems like a huge waste of money and product, to use on only two teeth (it won't work on all my front teeth, since those are all just porcelain-infused metal).

Surely some dentist out there has developed a way to spot-treat individual teeth without spending a fortune on a full set. Let me know if you find any, I'd love to direct my dentist to them!