Whitening.

Message

#1 Post by **Infamy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:40 pm

Hi Dr. J and Randall,

I have a couple of questions.

I am scheduled to have my braces removed on November 19th. After removal, of course, I'm going to be interested in whitening my teeth, as I have some decalicifcation on many of my teeth, due to my lack of oral hygiene when I was younger.

I already have both a bonded upper and lower retainer. On debonding day, I will be receiving a removal Essix (I assume that's the type of retainer I'll be receiving to supplement my upper retainer, although all my ortho said was a clear removable retainer) retainer.

My questions are this: if I decided to use the Crest, for example, whitestrips, will my bonded retainers interfere? I assume I won't necessarily get the best results, as the strips whiten both the front and back teeth, which is important because of tooth translucency; however, my ortho, I assume, thoroughly cleaned the backs of my teeth and I know he removed a couple stains before bonding the retainers.

If I decided to use the white strips, I will probably have to wrap them around the back of my teeth, which will allow it direct contact with the bonding back there. This will not break down the bonding for my retainers, correct?

Also, I have some Rembrandt whitening gel that my brother got awhile ago. Is it possible to use the Essix retainer to whiten my teeth? And if it is, the whitening solution will not adversely affect the retainer, will it?

I know that dentist-made whitening trays have small resevoirs to allow for the gel to sit, which I assume my Essix retainers will not have. So if I can use the Essix retainer, I understand that the results I receive may not be the best possible results. But I just want to know if it will at least give some results without jeopardizing the stability of the retainer or my bonded retainers.

Thank you,
Infamy

#2 Post by **dr.j** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:20 am

A recent study indicated that the bleaching resevoir is not neccessary. Folks can now bleach in well fitting Essix retainers but do this under the supervision of a dentist.

White strips and stuff: your guess is as good as mine I do not really get into that stuff. If you can get them to adhere, your lingual retainers pose no problem I can think of. Go for it

Dr.J

#3 Post by **Infamy** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:58 am

Thanks for the response.