As I sit here writing this tooth whitening post I reflect back on my younger years (I’m in my 40’s now shhhhhh) when I’d go to the dentist and they’d always tell me how great my teeth were. I fact until I reached into my 20’d the only thing I ever had to do was get my teeth cleaned and the worst dental appointment I ever had up to that point was one in which I had a loose tooth and the dentist asked me if I would like him to pull it out. I said sure, but that was before I knew he was going to stick a six inch needle into my gums! Of course being a guy I could back down now, i had already said go for it! Grrrrrrrr.
Ok so I’ve gotten older and so a root canal, one fake tooth on a metal post, a few fillings a couple of crowns and a partridge in a pear tree later my dentist now views me as their child's college fund supplier and my wife wonders if she can afford to keep me around!
My last few appointments have gone much better and I credit that to the fact I got a Sonicare toothbrush which I use three times a day, plus a whitening rinse and a mouthwash which I use twice a day. While the health of my teeth are much better I’m still less than thrilled with the color of my teeth which aren’t horrible, but I’d like to have whiter teeth.
In my case though I believe my teeth are not necessarily stained as the color is consistent where as stained teeth can range in shades. Also I don’t smoke, drink soda’s or tea’s, eat many staining types of foods and I only drink coffee maybe once a week (cup or two) all of which are linked to the staining of your teeth’s enamel.
Age can however play a part in having yellow teeth because as time passes the enamel erodes and exposes the material underneath called dentin which is naturally yellow in color.
We all want whiter teeth right so what are our options? Well you can go into any store now a days and see
a multitude of tooth whitening systems and I’ve tried some myself such as…
- Tooth whitening strips. For me these haven’t really done anything for me to speak of and even if they did the fact the strip sits on your teeth means that they can’t really sit on your teeth evenly as teeth have a natural curve so your whitening is bound to be somewhat uneven.
- Whitening rinses. This has worked for me a bit, but not a lot. I think it’s better as something that keeps the color from getting worse so it’s more of a preventative measure.
- Whitening toothpaste. Again similar to the rinse it seems more preventative with mild results.
- Tooth Whitening Systems. Now these kits with a tooth tray and gels has actually worked pretty well for me and when my teeth seem to getting worse I’ve ended up trying this and it did bring them back a couple of shades so I do give a thumbs up to these kits. The down side with them is they help some, but I also find my teeth are much more sensitive to hot and cold for a few days afterward and they can be quite expensive. Still to get back to a decent color its worth it to me.
So how about professional whitening? In other wards going to a dentist for teeth whitening services. This is the best of the best as they tend to use a combination of hydrogen peroxide bleaching and blue light technology which can result in several shades difference in about an hours time! Simply amazing.
The down side to this type of treatment is the cost which can be between $400 and $700 depending on where you live (cost of living). Also this is considered a comedic procedure so most insurances will not cover the procedure so if you feel you really need it you better be prepared to cough up the dough for it!
So Tooth Whitening System or Professional Whitening? Well it really comes down to the individual and the ability to pay. In this case the Professional Whitening wins hands down from most over the counter solutions. The other day I found this teeth whitening kit that appears to be similar to the Professional Whitening option that can be done at home and its FREE! Uh yeah right free, give me a break. Ok so they do charge for shipping, but it’s not a scam charge like so many do on eBay where they sell an item for a couple bucks to hook you then charge you $20 for shipping. In this case it’s a mere $4.99 last I checked.
What I like about this this home teeth whitening kit is that they have custom fitted mouth trays,peroxide bleach a remineralization gel AND a blue laser light just like the dentists office! Is it as god as the professional whitening? That I don’t know but for the fact that they’re offering a free trial kit (as of the time of this writing) and the tiny cost of shipping I know I’m going to give it a try. If any of you decide to give it a try come back here and give us all your feed back on how well it worked for you.
