We all know that cigarettes, coffee and life in general darken teeth color. If you choose to go to a dentist, this option can cost many hundreds of dollars for lazer treatment or by the kits they provide.

My dentist sells alternatives to laser treatments. Due to costs he even doesn't recommend them. He has a product called Ultradent. Ultradent kits sell for around $100 in his office. He provided me with a few for free to test out. I always have trouble with very sensitive teeth. According to Ultradent, these trays are very mild. I tried out a few. They did not hurt my sensitive teeth too much. But I did have a headache after using them due to the pain. My teeth also did not get white from the few I used. I really would not think they are worth the price.

I have also tried the many over the counter teeth whiteners. The most popular teeth whitener seems to be the Crest White Strips. I bought these and after using them I had such severe pain and headaches, I had to stop. My teeth as stated above are sensitive, but the pain that was caused was worse than anything I had ever experienced. I can drink hot or cold liquids and have candy without my teeth hurting. I do not know why these hurt me so bad, but I would definitely not spend the money on these if you have any type of sensitive teeth.

Zoom is another new teeth whitening product that is needed to be performed by a dentist. I do not recommend this either as this is supposed to really hurt people with sensitive teeth. Cost also varies wildly with this product. In some areas of California people are paying up to $1,500 for this, while many places on the East Coast including Connecticut, they only charge a little over $100 dollars. I am not sure if they are using the same product, but how can these prices vary so wildly?

There are many teeth whitening toothpastes on the market. I have tried most if not all of them. I can tell you right now, I noticed no difference whatsoever for any of them. Crest Pro Health has some interesting commercials that intrigued me to buy their toothpaste. The commercial says whiter teeth in as little as 7 days. Took me a tube to see that there was no difference.

I then read online that there have been numerous studies that show that toothpaste whiteners to date do not whiten teeth. Some may lighten stains a little bit, but for the most part, they do not make any difference.

I then found online some other free alternatives. 'Whiten teeth naturally' were my top keywords on Google. I found that I can do just as well cleaning stains on my teeth with baking soda and water on a tooth brush. I am doing that now, but I am being careful as to not destroy my enamel by scraping too hard. Another good tip was to put peroxide on a que tip and put it on my teeth. This is a laborious process that I am not too sure works, but I am willing to keep it up for a few weeks.

Sorry I do not have a conclusion for you as to the best product or service to try out to whiten your teeth. I hope at least I saved you some time and money trying some of the products that are currently on the market.

You can email me at imaginads@gmail.com if you have tried any products that I have not listed and you would like to let me know of your results.
Vanessa

Published 02/09/2011

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