Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Teeth Whitening!
my answer: It’s not something I consider traditionally part of beauty, but it really is part of my beauty routine, as I’m a heavy coffee drinker so whitening is a necessity when wearing certain lip colors. It’s never that comfortable to wear, and to avoid causing sensitivity (or too much of it), I have to go for slower, more drawn out options!
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Similar to my take on hair colour: I leave it to the professionals. Like any ‘bleach’..too much isn’t a good thing.
Five minute white is amazing. Learned xparage on you tube. Under ten a bottle and my teeth are ridiculously white. The tube has lasted me about 6 months using it at least weekly.
I’ve never had a professional treatment. I kind of want to, but I’m afraid of that it might not only whiten but also damage/weaken my teeth. So I just stick to whitening toothpastes. Not sure if they really make a difference though.
I find that lots of whitening options are very expensive and they all end up wear away my enamel.
I’ve been banned by my dentist from any tooth whitening products, which sucks! My only option is to pay the big bucks to have them professionally whitened, and I just can’t seem to fork over the money for that sort of thing. Maybe eventually I will though 🙂
Teeth whitening isn’t really a “thing” here in the UK like it is in the US (you’ve all heard the jokes about the British and their teeth…), unnaturally white teeth aren’t so common here, so I haven’t tried it but I probably will someday.
I had my teeth whitened professionally a few years ago and it slightly damaged the top of my canines. I wasn’t blown away by the results either, so all in all I’d undo it if I could turn back the hands of time.
Rave- I used to be a dental assistant, and so I do have the trays that you wear. I think it’s the best way to whiten your teeth because you can control how much and how white you want them.
I’ve yet to do it, as my teeth are actually whiter than expected for somebody my age and drinking habits. I was never a big coffee drinker, and I had to abstain or severely limit tea or soda intake after I developed a GI sensitivity to caffeine. It is, however, going to have to become a part of my routine in a few years, as I was in an accident awhile back that resulted in my losing my two front teeth and replacing them with permanent falsies. Due to the fact that the material won’t darken the way normal teeth do, I have to make sure to maintain the rest of my teeth so that they match my front teeth. (It had to be the front teeth, too! If it were a molar, it wouldn’t be such an issue. :P)
I get why people whiten, but honestly, I think we tend to overdo it in this society. Movie stars and models are one thing, but nobody needs the blindingly white teeth that I see some people sporting. It just looks all around unnatural.
I hate that they can’t undo fluoridosis! Mine is mild but it bugs the crap out of me!
I’ve had it done professionally but I just can’t afford it anymore. Crest Strips and the like made my teeth incredibly sensitive so I gave up for a while until I read about Plus White 5 Minute Whitening Gel on Makeup Alley. The kit (gel, trays and “whitening rinse”) was under $10 and it really worked. There was also NO sensitivity. It probably isn’t as good as a professional job but I’m really happy with how my teeth look now.
Whitening isn’t really for me. I’d love to magically have whiter teeth, but I have hypersensitive teeth as it is and all of my molars have fillings (which caused even further sensitivity), so even whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes do more harm than good.
I hate the idea of it. My teeth are nowhere near pristinely white, but they’re quite sensitive already and I don’t want to risk it getting even worse when teeth aren’t supposed to be glow-in-the-dark anyway. Beauty is one thing. potentially harmful cosmetic procedures are another!
It’s definitely something I think is nice to be able to do, but I have serious reservations about some of the methods that people/companies propose. I agree with Christine that it’s better to go with more ‘slow and steady wins the race’ methods than harsh ones. Teeth are precious – and really expensive to replace, LOL!
My teeth are naturally slightly yellowish (according to my dad, this is because we are of Russian descent – I don’t know if that is true or not) and I drink a lot of tea, so I really wanted to whiten my teeth before my wedding. I tried the trays you can take home from the dentist. You’re supposed to keep them in for about 30 minutes, but I could only keep them in for about 5 minutes, they hurt so bad. My teeth and gums are really sensitive. So that was my only attempt at teeth whitening. I admire it when people have nice white teeth, but really white teeth freaks me out.
I’ve had 2 whitening treatments in dentist’s offices in my lifetime. One YEARS ago, it was called Brite Smile, and it was a complete NIGHTMARE. The pain during and afterwards was unbelievable. I thought I’d never do it again but my dental hygienist talked me into doing Zoom. She assured me it wasn’t painful like the Brite Smile. OH WAS THAT A LIE. Hurt like hell, took the pain 3 days to go away afterwards. I almost couldn’t even complete the treatment. NEVER. EVER. AGAIN. From now on if I want to do it I’ll try crest strips or something that’s not going to kill me.
I’m too British to do this, lol! My best friend’s husband is a dentist and he’s offered to do it for free (is that a hint or what?!), but I just can’t be bothered to be honest.
I actually use coconut oil for oil pulling, and have seen a major difference in my teeth. I have really sensitive teeth, and most of the whitening products really made it so much worse. I researched oil pulling and it sounded intriguing, so I finally tried it. After three months, I can say that I love it, my dentist loves it, and it has made my mouth much healthier as well as my teeth notably whiter.
My DDS also forbid me from using all whitening toothpastes as they work by exfoliating off the surface stains on your teeth, which in turn scrubs off your enamel! He said whitening strips used a few times a year are ideal for most people. I’ve had some sitting in my closet [on my makeup stand] for a year, but I’m too lazy to follow through!
I’ve tried whitening tooth pastes, but the ones I’ve tried didn’t do anything I could see.
I fell when I was very young, before the pemanent teeth came up, and hurt my two upper second teeth, the ones next to the front ones. This resulted in the permanent teeth getting injured and a million visits to specialist dentists.
Years later it was discovered that one ot the injured teeth also had a fracture going all the way around the tooth, under the gums.
Long story, sorry. Anyway I later had to replace that tooth, and the ones next to it, and I daren’t whiten my teeth as I’m afraid it’ll look really odd due to the false ones.
One should never fall and hurt teeth. It’s caused a lot of pain, At least on bitten dentist-finger and it’s later cost a lot of money.
Sorry for rambeling on.
I used to use Crest Whitestrips and they did a great job…until I noticed that they don’t whiten BETWEEN my teeth. Ugh. Long story short, I was so glad I found Listerine Pre-Brush Whitening Rinse. I love this stuff. I use it, along with Colgate Optic White Toothpaste and I actually get comments and compliments on my white teeth, even from my dentist and they ask what I use lol. I highly recommend this combination for teeth whitening.
I’ve considered it, but hearing that it causes sensitivity puts me off a bit. Most of my teeth look okay but my canine teeth are naturally *yellow* apparently (even after professional cleaning) so if I could just whiten those to match the others that would be enough.
I think it can be overdone too, I’ve seen a few people with teeth that have obviously been straightened, veneered and whitened to within an inch of their lives and it can look a bit too noticeable and fake.
I only use my 3D White toothpaste and I’ve gone through about 3 of these. I’ve never had any problem with sensitivity. I used to use the Rembrandt Deeply White toothpaste but it was too expensive and there was too little product. There wasn’t the strong mint flavor so it wasn’t great for the morning. I used to use the Arm & Hammer Whitening Booster which is a whitening gel that you use in conjunction with your toothpaste and it helps with the whitening process. You can also use the Plus White 5 Minute Whitener with your toothpaste as well. I think toothpaste is the best way to gradually whiten your teeth and whiten all your teeth thoroughly. It’s important to make sure you floss very well because white teeth and yellow between teeth will only enhance the yellow. Also, make sure to not only focus the toothpaste in the front of the teeth, but also the back of the teeth! This will make a huge difference.