Question:
Has anyone had their teeth whitened by a dentist?
Was it successful?
Worth the money?
How long should it last?
Answer:
I started to do this with the dentist, they take a mold of your
teeth to create a tray that you fill with bleaching material, and
wear overnight or long periods of the day. Takes something like
30-90 days or so.
My problem was the bleaching material made my teeth *extremely*
sensitive and painful. The weaker stuff was slightly better, and
using fluoride paste afterwards sometimes helped, but overall I
stopped trying to use it because of the pain.
I have no idea how many people suffer from this reaction, but I
was wondering if the "1 visit" whitening places were worth looking
into myself.
I cannot ascertain from that response what you are trying
to say.
You being sarcastic or something? My question was sincere.
I had real problems with the tray/gel whitening system I
tried. I thought the "one-visit" thing might be a better
alternative for me. You agree or disagree?
I am not doing this because I want "perfect looking teeth as
quick as possible", I need some restorations on my front
teeth and my dentist suggested bleaching prior so the restorative
work doesn't end up mismatching later.
Price is not the issue, if the alternative is feeling like
my head is going to fall off from pain as a result of teeth-
whitening.
The ingredient is Carbamide Peroxide and the brand is Opalescence.
We tried the stronger stuff first (Opalescence PF 15% with potassium
nitrate and fluoride) but that was an immediate major problem. The
10% stuff (plain) was better (especially if I started using fluoride
paste right after) but all of it really was pretty miserable, I
couldn't keep using it. (I have sensitive teeth to begin with)
When I initially discussed the pain problems with the dentist
was when they suggested the weaker gel and fluoride. I never
got the impression they were offering any other alternatives.
Now I'm reading here about things with peroxide and light etc., not
to mention the "one hour" places, so it piques my interest.
(FWIW I called BriteSmile today and the cost is currently about
$525 here. "Normally $600." Heh.)
I don't understand why dentists appear to be so critical of these
one-hour thingies. So far the impression I get from Joel is just
that he thinks it's a ripoff for an hour's work, nothing about
the efficacy. (one wonders why dentists wouldn't jump at doing
something like this in their own offices - is there some hidden
agenda here? One guesses that either the technique doesn't work
that well, or it's unique and patented.)
What they told me today is that the sensitivity lasts more
like 24 hours, rather than over a long time period as with
the tray-based systems. Sounds plausible.
It also sounds like there may be somewhat less control over
the exact whitening achieved, which might explain why dentists
appear to be not terribly enthusiastic about this method.
(unless it's just proprietary and unavailable to them :-)
FWIW, BriteSmile's head office (Walnut Creek, CA) is right
next door to one of my clients, so it would be quite convenient
for me.
