tooth whitening

[scrap_metal]

i'm about to get my braces off after 3 years (2 months short really) and want to get my teeth whitened using a home system. Any recomendations as to the best one to use.

[littleshaddies]

I had to go to my dentist last week. I do scrub my teeth big time but even so he said I will need my teeth bleached after the braces come off. He said he will do that for me. I rather he did it too. I have tried a lot of products for whitening before braces but I am sure that nothing will come close to the dentist job. Those gel things you use at home you mainly kid yourself that they are working, and they can get costly too.
Anyway, thats my view on it, lets see what other responce you get.

[HollyDontSpend]

I used Crest Night Effects a couple years ago and found that it worked somewhat. It wasn't a drastic change, but it was a little better. I have heard that Crest White Strips are really good. I just couldn't use them because my teeth were so crooked. Maybe I'll give em a try after the braces come off. Good luck. I think the administrator used them too. Check her journal or maybe she'll stop by and give her opinion.

[gracie381]

My best friend is a Dental Hygenist and she told me to use Crest White Strips. She swears by them. She said that if you use them as directed, they are just as good as what they do in a dentist office. I told her I wanted her to whiten my teeth after my braces come off, which will be a long time by the way, but she insists I try the Crest White Strips for the recommended time first and see if they don't do the job. So I guess I will give it a shot.

[Chocoholic]

Hiya,

Yeah I want to do this as well when my braces come off, I've used home products in the past but they don't really work. My dentist offers two types, they make a mouth tray which you take with the solutions and do it at home, or you can do the laser whitening, faster, but way more expensive. But apparently you shouldn't whiten too often as it can wreck your teeth.

[jcdamon3]

Hi,

I have tried the crest strips before and they do work really well. As far as price point they are excellent. If you have really dark teeth the only fall back is that they don't whiten the back teeth at all, so if those show in your smile you may be able to notice.

My plan is to do a combination of having the dentist whiten them and also give me the take home trays so that I can maintain the bleaching at home. I originally planned to do this because I was going to get bonding. Once you get bonding you have to keep the white maintained because the bonding doesn't stain. (This is what my dentist told me). I now may not have to have bonding so I am really thrilled about that. The straightening will hopefully fix any issues that I was having. I am really keeping my fingers crossed about this because it means that perhaps I will be able to have more options open to me as far as whitening.

If you are short on cash the crest strips are awesome, no doubt about it. They even sell them at Costco (warehouse store) and I got a coupon off of that price. The dentist may be trying to sell you the ones they have and they are a bit stronger than the ones you buy off the shelf.

I wish I could have my teeth whitened right now!!!!

[Doug]

I just finished using a box of the Crest White Strips and my teeth are definitely whiter than they were. I just used them once a day (the box recommends 2X a day). My teeth were a little sensitive after using the strips the first few days, but I got used to it.

And congratulations Scrap Metal on your upcoming emancipation from the hardware!

[cassidy91]

I used the Crest white strips too, about a month before I got my braces, they worked really well.

-cass