O.K. gang.........
I'm new here where I live and haven't gotten a new dentist yet. I have the trays for the whitening gel but am thinking of doing the over the counter thing until I find a dentist.

I'd like some opinions on teeth whiteners. Do you use strips? Which kind? Any special products that you recommend? It's time for a whitening boost.

Thanks in advance.

Glo, have you ever tried Rembrandt whitening toothpaste? You are probably looking for something a little more intense, but I have used it in the past and thought it was nice, but pricey.
I read about it in Allure back in the late nineties as something that all the supermodels used.
I used to take all those Allure product recommendations as gospel, now that I am older, I wonder if the magazine is paid to recommend products.
I really don't have any other recommendations, but good luck on your search.

I recall research from a while back that showed two common products to be most effective: Macleans and Aquafresh whitening toothpastes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/784072.stm

I did use Rembrandt (noted for being less abrasive than most whitening toothpastes: http://www.janina.co.uk/research/AR1.html) in the past, and once had a bleaching treatment done by the dentist, which left my teeth ubersensitive, and my bridge yellowed (I'm not talking about the contrast with the bleached teeth here).

Probably not what you want to hear, but I tried most of the over-the-counter products, and found nothing worked all that well. They made a small difference, but not a significant one.

The custom made trays with the bleaching gel that you can get directly from the dentist is orders of magnitude more effective. I say, save your cash and find a local dentist. In the long run, doing it right is more cost-effective than wasting money on products that don't do much.

I've had minimal improvement from anything - including the pricey trays and gel from my dentist. The bottom line is that if your teeth were never naturally all that white, bleaching isn't going to make them so. Beware of the laser treatements. They "can" leave microscopic cracks in the enamel of your teeth which, over time, allow bacteria to creep in resulting in those dreaded root canals.

you're probably right.

respectfully disagreeing here. You need toothpaste anyhow, so there's no waste there. Some are effective, if you like a 'natural' but improved look, they'll suffice. Personally, I find the repercussions (including financial) of dentist's bleaching rather unattractive.

accidental double post. sorry

Lou, what repercussions are you referring to?? Having the trays made was kind of expensive, but Glo said she already had that done. Once that's done, the gel itself isn't all that expensive. You don't use this stuff all the time. You use it for maybe a week or two every 6-12 months. It's not meant for daily use. So I buy 3 little tubes of the gel for about $25.00 total and it lasts me more than a year. I don't think that's all that expensive!!!

Anyway, I am interested to hear if anyone's had phenomenal success with an over-the-counter product, too. The things I tried didn't work for me, but I'm sure I didn't try everything available!!

You can probably even buy the professional strength gel online - have you checked that? I have the custom trays and some gel, but I've gotten either lazy or busy...I'll go with busy.. and I just don't get it together to use them these days. I also found that one can sort of overdo it easily. I never looked weird in person, but I've seen pics of the time that I was whitening frequently, and....the teeth are a little much. LOL

You can probably even buy the professional strength gel online - have you checked that? I have the custom trays and some gel, but I've gotten either lazy or busy...I'll go with busy.. and I just don't get it together to use them these days. I also found that one can sort of overdo it easily. I never looked weird in person, but I've seen pics of the time that I was whitening frequently, and....the teeth are a little much. LOL

Thanks Sharil. I'll check it out. Don't know why I wouldn't be able to find the same thing online that I used. My girlfriend looked really good this weekend and she uses the Crest strips! Who'd a thunk it?
I get lazy too but..........I do drink coffee in the a.m. and haven't used the gel in awhile.
I was never too obsessive about it because my teeth are kinda sensitive. It's time though.

We're obviously having problems here posting!!!
I will check online. I don't know why that should be hard to find the gel.

I sometimes use my own recipe. I use arm and hammer baking soda, a dab of hydrogen peroxide along with my toothpaste. I never had any problems. I don't use it long term either. Maybe for 1 week, just before an event.

Do you see a difference??

Lately, all I can find is whitening SENSITIVE tooth paste and it's causing me a lot of problems.
I have to get special past from my dentist.

There are problems and side-effects to having teeth whitened and anyone who has it done, or is considering having it done, should be aware of them.

This was on the news the other night, about the dangers of tooth whitening obsession:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Dental/story?id=992315



This is from "Prevention" and quite a good article on the dangers:

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/grea...uty/teeth.smile

I can appreciate that with people who have an obsession with it but that's NOT me.
I probably do it about once a year for just a few days IF I remember to do it.
I can tell when I need a refresher. There is nothing that can instantly make you look really bad than dingy teeth.

I occasionally mix a peroxide/baking soda and a little water paste and brush.
Or if I'm in a rush, peroxide/water....
I will never "whiten" my teeth....first, it makes them very sensitive and second, it is only temporary...I'd rather blow the cash on 'fume ;-)

It's a different type of peroxide in the pro stuff, so you have to be sure that you it contains that rather than good ol' hydrogen peroxide.

Just to get you headed in the right direction, I pulled out one of the plungers of goo I have left and, while there are several brands, this one is:

Opalescence PF and the active ingredient that my dentist says makes it much more effective than OTC stuff is carbamide peroxide. This goo states 20%...so...probably not going to get near that result with Crest White Strips, though I will admit I haven't read the labeling on those.

Does it get pearly white? No, but I do notice a difference. It's cheap and economical. Sometimes, I rinse my mouth with diluted peroxide for 30 seconds. Not all the time. Too much will weaken the enamel, like all whitening products.

I have used Crest Whitestrips Professional in the past and had very good results. Nowadays i go the baking soda a peroxide route and am just as happy, if not happier, with the results. This way is much cheaper too!

I had my teeth professionally bleached ten years ago. Since then I do "top ups" once or twice a year with white strips type products. One type I will never buy again was either a generic or off brand that had thick, blue wax strips. So uncomfortable.

It's generally a toss up between taking longer to work but making your teeth less sensitive while it's working, to bleaching them quickly, with stronger stuff, that makes your mouth more sensitive. How long it lasts depends on how much coffee, tea or wine I drink.

I am going to try this!

I went online and looked. I found the Opalescence PF 20% on Amazon. I also saw they had the 35% but that's a little scary for me.
I also saw GoSmile but it's more expensive and you have to do it often. I just want to do it and forget it.
I'll probably go ahead and order the Opalescence 20%. One tip was to put in sensitive toothpaste in your trays for 30 min. prior to using it.
I think that's the brand that I had from my dentist.
Thanks.

The receptionists and dental assistants (I'm sure they're called something else these days -- duh) in my dentist's office are tanorexics and addicted to whitening their teeth.
I find it rather disconcerting when I first walk into the office...and they all smile at me.
I feel like a deer caught in headlights.
It's not even what I think is attractive. It's rather scary, imho.

The Tan or the teeth??? I NEVER TAN!!

It's a combination of the two.
They're so brownish/orange...and their teeth are just TOO white. Like bleached bones.
You don't even get to notice their features -- they're so overpowered by the "tans" and that WHITE...

Yikes!!!

On the question of Allure and beauty mags in general, they certainly do get product placement money rather than 'oh gee lookee at what we found' editorial printing decisions. I apologize but I can't place where I read that; I think it was a book on the beauty industry.

I'm terrified of Rembrandt! I used to get mouth ulcers (probably due in part to a medication I was taking) so I tried a toothpaste Rembrandt made specifically for mouth ulcer sufferers.... It made my mouth positively explode with more ulcers than I'd ever had before. I had to stay home from work for a couple of days because it hurt too much to talk. So no, I'm not going to try them again!

Every so often my dentist will ask if I want to do a whitening procedure but I figure that daily coffee consumption would probably wipe the effects away fairly quickly.

deweyeyed, thanks for this info.
I have never had a problem with mouth ulcers. However there was a whitening toothpaste I tried once that I was supposed to leave in my mouth as long as I could, which is not very long, as toothpaste often triggers a gag reflex. Sometimes it will happen while brushing my teeth, a vicious cycle, because what do you do after you regurgitate? Brush your teeth.

Appreciate all the info. I just asked my dentist about whitening because although my teeth are nice and straight, they do look a little dingy to me.

Here in the Twin Cities, $300 for the trays or $600 for a one shot deal they do in the office which I guess is faster.

I don't want them blazing, I just want them brightened up.

And since I also have ridiculously WEAK teeth, I'm thinking I should try one of the toothpastes mentioned here first!

My advice is to do an overnight treatment and then wait a few days for a couple of reasons. First, you usually only get sensitive when you bleach on consecutive nights and I also think it gives you time to see your teeth in different light and judge the shade. I think people get into trouble with overbleaching because they are going at it at such a mad pace that they don't really notice when they've overshot the runway and gotten into unnatural territory. Real healthy tooth color is not parchment white - that's why it's disconcerting when people bleach too much. Simon Cowell from American Idol is guilty of that or he has way too white of caps on his teeth because they look weird.

Most ear wax drops that are sold in drug stores, even the cheap generic type, are 6.5% carbamide peroxide. The Opalescence starts at 10%, which is considered safe for teeth bleaching. I wonder if using the ear wax drops in the trays would work.

I just ordered the Opalessence 8 syringe kit and trays from eBay. I never would have known about it if it weren't for this thread. Thanks!

I've had excellent results from Crest Whitening Strips. You can get them at the drug store, or you can get them from your dentist. I noticed no difference between the ones from the dentist and the ones I found on the shelves of CVS.

I am very happy with the results.

Rodney Dangerfield had the answer for yellow teeth. Wear brown.

And brightening your smile a little can give you a boost! I've seen people who've overdone it (Suze Orman!) but going a couple of shades lighter and touching up once or twice a year is great. Like you, I've used the custom tray from the dentist. I had extra vials of bleach in the kit, so haven't had to reorder yet.

DO NOT USE TEETH WHITENERS! Sorry, learned this one the hard way. I did the Rembrant system, supervised by my dentist 15 years ago. Within three years I'd had four new crowns. The bleaching agents get into the cracks for your teeth and weaken your teeth. If you use gel with a tray, the gel tends to pool at your gum line and actually eats through the enamel of your teeth. Stay away, far, far, away. If you were to do anything, I'd try those Crest White strips, only because they were the last ones to enter this market and are a conservative group.

Good advice chanel22, thanks.

I was wondering how you use the baking soda?

Is it the Sodium bicarbonate that we all use for cookies?

I tried the Crest white strips but could not get them to stay on my teeth and then I kept foaming at the mouth and having to spit repeatedly. Too much trouble! Plus I already have enamel issues due to terrible teeth-clenching at night (yes I wear a night guard) and receding gums, not to mention tooth sensitivity, so I think I'm just going to have to live with the ivory colored teeth.

Arm and Hammer baking soda.

You create a paste with the baking soda and with the peroxide. There many variations. For me, I use toothpaste, dip the toothbrush into the peroxide solution (just straight); or make the paste and dip my toothbrush with the regular toothpaste into the homemade paste. Different variations. I only will do that when I brush the outside, not the inside where I have my fillings. I worry that the peroxide might "pop out" my fillings. I don't know if that could actually happens.

I rinse with HP. I have many fillings. No problem.

I make a paste w/ baking soda and H2O: wet brush, wet hand, pour baking soda into hand, instant paste.

Thanks for the info.