teeth whitening

[MrSix]

Over the years my teeth had got pretty badly stained from my copious Jamaican roll-up smoking so I set out on a mission to get them white again as cheap as possible (without damaging them obviously).

After doing some googling I found out that Crest's Whitestrips Premium Plus were the daddy and as effective as dental whitening dentists do for hundreds and hundreds of pounds

You cannot buy them in the U.K but as usual ebay delivers the goods
Think I paid about £20 for the 10 Day treatment pack a good year ago.
The results were great and my teeth were nice and white again

The picture below was taken a good 10 months after I had finished the treatment.

I suggest once you have done the treatment to then use the slightly more expensive whitening toothpaste to maintain the pearly whites Seems to have worked for me.

I'm gonna give them a whirl, are the strips alright to keep on, as in you don't have to gurn, keeping your lips off your teeth for 30 minutes do you, just slap em on and shut your mouth?

 

[Biohazard]

I am practically just out of the dentist sugery by minutes for a checkup. (Its only round the corner)

Just a check up, nice new young Irish bird too Wanted to give them a wee clean.

£9.80 for a scale and polish, teeth look nice and shiney white again!

I got talking to her about her and her tools, its just a metal prod that vibrates really quickly. Feels like someone is taking a dremel to your teeth.

It only starts to get a bit unconfortable if he/she is taking out quite large chunks

 

[M0t0r0la]

They come as little plastic strips that have the whitening chemical knurled onto it. You simply stick it onto your teeth and wait 30mins (although the first 5 strips I only left on for 15mins to let my teeth get use to the dye/chemical)

Here they are:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Crest-Whitest...ryZ31771QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I am practically just out of the dentist sugery by minutes for a checkup. (Its only round the corner)

Just a check up, nice new young Irish bird too Wanted to give them a wee clean.

£9.80 for a scale and polish, teeth look nice and shiney white again!

I got talking to her about her and her tools, its just a metal prod that vibrates really quickly. Feels like someone is taking a dremel to your teeth.

It only starts to get a bit unconfortable if he/she is taking out quite large chunks

That only removes built up plaque (sp?) and won't remove staining which is the main cause of teeth yellowing.

 

[Nazbit]

I've used the Crest Whitening Strips (The North American ones, tho now available here) and it gives really good results.

I personally think the main reason that dentists scare monger about home kits is simply because they loose business to them.

These screwed my teeth big time. Yes they did appear to give good results, but then the trouble started.

 

[Biohazard]

They come as little plastic strips that have the whitening chemical knurled onto it. You simply stick it onto your teeth and wait 30mins (although the first 5 strips I only left on for 15mins to let my teeth get use to the dye/chemical)

Here they are:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Crest-Whitest...ryZ31771QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



That only removes built up plaque (sp?) and won't remove staining which is the main cause of teeth yellowing.

Well my teeth were a 'bit' yellow. Recently gave up smoking, and I work crazy shifts. Not an excuse but sometimes when the phone goes its not the first thing on my mind, teeth brushing.

However my teeth are now WHITE. Depends on your staining I suppose. Coffee doesn't help either.

And yeah, its plaque!

 

[Clipsey]

How much whiter was it... do you have before and after pics you could post?

Afraid not really. But put it this way I think it worked really well!!
I think they went about 5-6shades whiter, but again it depends on each individual!
If your going to get it done I would only do it through a dentist for sure!

 

[aardvark]

These screwed my teeth big time. Yes they did appear to give good results, but then the trouble started.

like?

 

[Biohazard]

If your going to get it done I would only do it through a dentist for sure!

Surely to god thats common sense??

Can anyone remember the kid years back who brushed his teeth with bleach for weeks and they all fell out?

 

[Gaverick]

TIPEX!

 

[M0t0r0la]

Surely to god thats common sense??

LOL

Well considering Crest strips use the same enamel-safe ingredient most dentists use for teeth whitening I’d say common sense tells me to pay £20 rather that £200+!

I've used the Crest Whitening Strips (The North American ones, tho now available here) and it gives really good results.

I personally think the main reason that dentists scare monger about home kits is simply because they loose business to them.

Bingo


At the person who said the Crests messed his teeth up could you please explain what exactly happened?!?! Also provided you used them as instructed in the manual then I'm afraid your problems would most likely have happened had you got it done at the dentists! Difference being you would have paid 100's of pounds more for the privilege!?!?! Sounds like you were allergic to the chemical or something?!?!?

 

[z0mbi3]

Surely they would be sued to high heaven if they contained 'unsafe levels'.

still, same stuff causes cancer in lab rats.

 

[MrSix]

These screwed my teeth big time. Yes they did appear to give good results, but then the trouble started.

still, same stuff causes cancer in lab rats.

So these two statements would make me think otherwise about trying these.
Do either of you have any evidence to back up your claims, or care to elaborate on your points?

 

[M0t0r0la]

So these two statements would make me think otherwise about trying these.
Do either of you have any evidence to back up your claims, or care to elaborate on your points?

Well considering Crest strips have passed vigorous safety tests and the fact they have sold hundreds of thousands of them without issues I think its safe to say there very isolated incidents.

Perhaps their dentists

 

[mattpc]

I just have a scale and polish sometimes. It's about £40 or something. Tbh I had a tooth that was totally yellow before and it came out fine. Trouble is the staining comes back despite my best brushing efforts so I have to keep getting it done. Think I drink too much tea.

 

[Nazbit]

like?

So these two statements would make me think otherwise about trying these.
Do either of you have any evidence to back up your claims, or care to elaborate on your points?

Well basically I bought the crest whitestrips, not the stronger ones, just the normal ones off ebay.

I thought, well crest is a big brand, all the reviews are good and I trust these a lot more than those other home whitening kits that could have anything in them. It was a 7 day kit using the strips twice a day for half an hour at a time. Within a few days I did see spots of white appearing, they were clearly whitening my teeth, but not in a very even way. No problem I will keep going and I guess the colour will all even itself out.

On the 5th day I noticed I could feel a tiny little imperfection on one of my two front teeth. So I stopped the whitestrips and left it. Didn't really think anything of it, but stopped the whitening just in case.
A few days later I had a fairly decent sized hole in the tooth, on closer inspection I had another one one another tooth just out of view.

I went straight to the dentist and he said that they had been damaged by the whitestrips and that I had done nothing wrong, and nor did I have anything else up with my teeth that caused me to be effected by them.

Maybe I am just that one in xxx number of people that they tell you about on the side effects of anything these days, but I sure as hell wont be using them again.

Whitening toothpaste only from now on!!

 

[Dogoid]

well i have had a good experience with BLANX , 8 quid for a medium sized tube.

in just over a week of normal usage, i was very surprised of the outcome.

btw my teeth were fairly stained by coffee and roll ups and after a 8 months of not using it, i can just see them becoming yellow again.

they say they make the stuff with extracts from a certain leaf that Eskimos use to clean thier teeth.

 

[Jenjey]

I bought a kit off ebay and that includes the make-your-own gum shield looking thing and a syringe of gel to put on the teeth. That was okay, didn't work out too great, but okay!

I've heard the crest strips are really really good so I might try them! My mum's friend uses them and has lovely pearly whites!

I think the main disadvantage to bleaching or getting the dental service for whitening is that your teeth become really really sensitive. One of my friends paid for the dentist's kit and had to stop using it after a few days because her teeth were so sensitive! What a waste of money!

I say go for the crest ones!

 

[sunama]

Im tempted to get 'CREST WHITESTRIPS SUPREME TEETH TOOTH WHITENING KIT' from ebay. £33.

I'm currently reading a lot (hundreds) of reviews on this and for the most part they seem positive. Expect a review soon.

Sorry to hear what happened to Nazbit - that does scare me.

 

[z0mbi3]

Do either of you have any evidence to back up your claims, or care to elaborate on your points?

A bigger concern is the recent theory that teeth whitening products can lead to oral cancer. This theory stems from the development of advanced tongue cancer in two young patients. They did not have the usual risk factors but had used teeth whiteners.

Dr. Bruce Davidson, chairman of head and neck surgery at the Georgetown University Hospital, believes the peroxide in whiteners, which is known to promote cancer growth in rats, can seep into the mouth. Though there is the possibility of harmful side effects when using teeth whitening products, more research must be conducted in order to prove any significant negative effects.

http://media.www.temple-news.com/me...mpleLiving/Brush.Up.On.Whitening-872426.shtml

It’s generally difficult to establish whether or not something is harmful to us and no more so than with tooth whitening. There have been many articles over the years which have highlighted possible risks from the chemicals used in the tooth whitening process, namely hydrogen peroxide and carbmide peroxide.

Tooth whitening is achieved through bleaching the tooth and therefore tooth whitening products contain bleaching agents.

Carbmide peroxide (1/3rd of which is hydrogen peroxide) is mainly used in professionally applied tooth whitening products and often in conjunction with excellerants to ensure the perfect colour is achieved in a very short period of time. The tooth whitening procedure involves the application of peroxides to the teeth using a tray but with each application bleaching agent leaks into the surrounding areas of the mouth.

Some studies have shown that less than half of the tooth whitening bleaching agent is in the bleaching tray at the end of the treatment which suggests a significant amount of leakage with some tooth whitening products.

There have been studies which have indicated that peroxide used in tooth whitening promotes the growth of cancerous tumors although all tests to date have been on animals and not humans.

Tests are not conclusive but it has been noted that there is a growing trend towards tooth whitening and along with it an increase in oral cancer in young people. However, studies and incidences of possible links between oral cancer and tooth whitening have been limited and there is no concrete evidence that tooth whitening, when performed correctly, increases the risk of oral cancer.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Has-Tooth-Whitening-Been-Linked-To-Oral-Cancer?&id=503707

On the flip side there are numerous studies that show it does not cause cancer at the doses you should recieve from these kits. My point is this teeth whitening thing could well just be a trend that'll pass and that if you want to take the risk at least get it done profesionaly.

 

[Adam]

Erm I don't see any mention that the crest strips cause cancer, more a general warning that the peroxide chemical could possibly cause cancer.

I'm tempted to go for the crest ones. However I have a temporary repair on my front tooth and hoping this doesn't stand out too much if I were to get the others whitened. Need it crowned but i'm too scared