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My mom was getting her tea-stained teeth professionally whitened. She had already paid for the guy to fly in to work on her. I figured that I might as well give it a shot since he's in town. It's 2 years later now and they still look good. They never looked fake, overly white, or bluish.
To the folks that are concerned about the fake looking teeth, who do you use?
Who? No one. I use a toothbrush and Crest toothpaste and Listerine twice a day, and I floss. My upper teeth are mostly bridges, but the "genuine" teeth between the crowns look pretty much the same color as the porcelain. My lower teeth are marginally whiter than the porcelain above them, not enough for anyone but me and my dentist to notice. We did it on purpose because my natural teeth will eventually shift shades, while the porcelain won't. At that point, they'll be identical in color.
If I am not mistake, the Alan Thicke commercials for "bright smile" was not FDA approved. That is why my dentist recommended I get my teeth bleached. I don't remember the sensitivity of it, it was years ago. I do remember them getting white, (as I like coffee), I admit it....but again, if memory serves me correctly, maybe if it lasted a year..
The dentist also made molds of my teeth to fill with the bleach gel ( blech) once a month when I go to sleep. I tried that, but couldn't keep the trays in my mouth overnight, I couldn't sleep. So that ended that.
I also believe to much whitening will and does take the enamel away from your teeth, and that you do not want to happen.
So I just brush brush and brush, and swallow the coffee really fast.
PS: Stained teeth does not mean dirty neglected mouth. Some peoples teeth stain faster and more than others, no matter how much bleaching they do, it has zero to do with proper dental hygene.
If I am not mistake, the Alan Thicke commercials for "bright smile" was not FDA approved. That is why my dentist recommended I get my teeth bleached. I don't remember the sensitivity of it, it was years ago. I do remember them getting white, (as I like coffee), I admit it....but again, if memory serves me correctly, maybe if it lasted a year..
The dentist also made molds of my teeth to fill with the bleach gel ( blech) once a month when I go to sleep. I tried that, but couldn't keep the trays in my mouth overnight, I couldn't sleep. So that ended that.
I also believe to much whitening will and does take the enamel away from your teeth, and that you do not want to happen.
So I just brush brush and brush, and swallow the coffee really fast.
PS: Stained teeth does not mean dirty neglected mouth. Some peoples teeth stain faster and more than others, no matter how much bleaching they do, it has zero to do with proper dental hygene.
If you stain quickly you have thinner or more open pores in your enamel which can be from poor dental care, poor nutritional care during life/development or genetics. After a certain age its expected normal life enamel wear but premature...see Lohan's pic...
Healthy teeth of all the bone colored tones do have a naturally pearly luster when they are well taken care of.
For coffee you should rinse your sips down with water to get the acidic coffee off. Really helps with staining big time. Plus no dry mouth from coffee and you reduce the enamel's erosion caused by drinking acidic coffee...(also an addict of the coffee drink..lol)
Overbleaching can actually make the problem worse. Its better to brush and restore than to try to keep bleaching it out.
It can actually dry your tooth out and cause them to crack or chip.
Bone and natural teeth in their whole state...much better than chipped up chicklet teeth.
It's possible that some would rather get a band-aid solution instead of actually getting their teeth taken care of and getting necessary work done to get their teeth back in shape.
I think it's just easier now to get all those whitening kits, molds, strips.
More accessible and cheaper than having to get it done by your dentist.
I have to admit, looking at old pics, our teeth were beige!!!
Now that our dentist supplies free gel and molds as long as we keep going to them
It's just part of our hygiene now.
But I agree there is an obsession now.
We don't have EXTREME white smiles, because I think that looks very ODD, but we gel about twice a month.
You can absolutely keep your teeth white w/o them having to look "too" white. Sounds like you have figured out the right formula! Bravo! From the research I have done, individuals absolutely respond better to those that have white teeth. We can all argue "semantics" here. Perception is reality, if you have brown, yellow or gray teeth, it not only ages you significantly, "hygiene" absolutely does come to mind. If you owned a company would you want employees with yellow, green, brown or gray teeth? Didn't think so. Me either. Just saying. Using baking soda is a great way to keep your teeth white & as a result you will look more hygienic? If you don't want the hassle of using baking soda, just use it once or twice a month. Just like with anything, you don't have to use it to exxxxxxxcess! Happy Smiling all!
Who? No one. I use a toothbrush and Crest toothpaste and Listerine twice a day, and I floss. My upper teeth are mostly bridges, but the "genuine" teeth between the crowns look pretty much the same color as the porcelain. My lower teeth are marginally whiter than the porcelain above them, not enough for anyone but me and my dentist to notice. We did it on purpose because my natural teeth will eventually shift shades, while the porcelain won't. At that point, they'll be identical in color.
Maybe some were too white but I would rather that then too yellow.......who wouldn't? Well maybe Honey Boo Boo's mom but that is another story. I've never once seen white teeth so white they are "bluish". I think folks are getting confused with maybe "blue hairs"! Older ladies who tint their gray which ends up being gray, thus the name @ the dinner specials in Miami starting at 4:30pm for the "blue hairs"! If these old birds have teeth that you consider is "too white", God Bless EM!! Reports do indicate that having white teeth does take 10 years off your age??? Just sayin!!!
I can't be the only one who has noticed that many movies feature actors with blinding wbite teeth that are out of place for the period. IE, the film will be set in the old west or medieval times, and here come an actress or actor that they put a lot of effort into re: costume and makeup, but then neglect their glowing white teeth! Looks ridiculous and out of place, and it usually kills my 'suspension of disbelief.'
Hygiene??? Hello! If a person brushes and flosses as directed by their dentist that's hygiene, and the shade of their teeth has nothing to do with that. Besides, teeth color may be hereditary, since early childhood my teeth were never "white", whereas my older sister's were, ask any dentist and they'll tell you that the normal color of teeth varies from person to person. I still keep my children's baby teeth and they were not white either, more like a pearl color, and btw, my daughter only got her first cavity as an adult, and my son who is older still has none. So expecting everyone to have white teeth is unrealistic and absurd, I find it particularly shocking to see someone who is older and has a tan, like Suze Orman flashing these chalk-white teeth that look SO fake. This is really just an American obsession, Europeans who drink red wine constantly could not care less about white teeth.
With that said, there's more to that though. At one point, I guess caving in to the "pressure" I asked my dentist about a professional whitening and he said it would not be a good idea because I had too many composite fillings plus he didn't think I needed it. Then there's my daughter's case, she used to get those kits you get at the drugstore and sure enough, her teeth looked nice and white for a while (which suited her because she's very fair whereas I'm not) but during a visit to her dentist she was told her enamel was wearing out . By then I think I'd tried to warn her about that because I'd read in another internet forum of other people complain about that, in fact one girl had to have all her teeth capped at an outrageous expense, guess she'll have permanent white teeth now though!
So, IMO it's an unhealthy and unrealistic obsession, just a fad. It's one thing to encourage people to brush and floss their teeth, etc., but to try to make people feel bad because their teeth are not stark bright white, NO, that's just a nasty marketing ploy and because way too many people are like cows in a herd they immediately adopt the new fad without a thought of whether it's natural, reasonable or healthy. I particularly despise that new TV commercial that says "whenever you're not whitening you're yellowing" , right, I'm sure the weak-minded will be properly guilt-tripped into shelling out more bucks to self-destruct their teeth. I hope some of the people who lose their enamel for following their stupid advice will at least sue them!
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. By then I think I'd tried to warn her about that because I'd read in another internet forum of other people complain about that, in fact one girl had to have all her teeth capped at an outrageous expense, guess she'll have permanent white teeth now though!
