Teeth Whitening?

Has anyone had their teeth bleached or known anyone that has gone through the process? Any comments will be much appreciated.

There’s a few ways to have your teeth whitened, obviously some more expensive than others. When going through a dentist, I would assume the most common method is to have a mold made of your teeth so you’ll have an upper and lower tray. Basically you add a drop of the solution to the front of each tooth mold in the tray and wear the tray while you sleep.

There’s usually two strengths of solution. I’d say the process takes about 2 weeks. This is the process I had done and I was very pleased. Initially the cost is around 300$ but the majority of that cost is in making the trays. Once you have the trays, keep them, because if you want to touch up in the future all that you have to do is buy some more solution which isn’t too expensive.

The solution does make some peoples teeth sensitive. I used the strongest solution but didn’t find the sensitivity to be too bad. Overall, it’s definitely worth the effort/cost and it will make a significant difference.

Chris Shugart, as well as a couple people I know, did BrightSmile, which is laser whitening. It’s a one-time treatment that takes a couple hours. No trays to wear, just one shot and you’re done. And the sensitivity, if any, only lasts for a day or two. It is apparently expensive, though (I think like $700?). I’m not sure between the two, bleaching trays or laser whitening, which one lasts longer. It’s something to look into.

On the do-it-yourself front, Crest Premium Plus Whitestrips work GREAT. HOWEVER, if you’re a coffee drinker the results won’t last very long at all. If not, they’ll last probably a few months. (They CLAIM to last 18 months, but that’s pretty much pure BS – but they really DO whiten your teeth). They cost about $38 and it’s a 10-day process where you wear these thin little strips for a half an hour 2 times per day.

[quote]Damici wrote:
Chris Shugart, as well as a couple people I know, did BrightSmile, which is laser whitening. It’s a one-time treatment that takes a couple hours. [/quote]

Here’s a little info on it from the Shugart blog:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=770877