Thread: Teeth whitening

Okay, I have finally given up smoking. I smoked for years and my teeth are a lovely shade of nicotine! I am now considering having my teeth whitened.

Now considering the professional option or the DIY option. Anyone got any experience in this field who can recommend either a professional option or a decent DIY kit?

Cheers in advance

Sluice

I had a treatment at the dentist once called an "airbrush polish" (I think) it to get rid of tea/coffee/red wine on my teeth. Not been a heavy smoker so not sure if it would work, of nicotine stains, but defiently made my teeth feel really clean and they looked so much better. I think it was about £50, I would definetly reccomend it.

I have tried the home kits and whilst they do make a (slight) difference, I think for a smoker or someone who has tained teeth, the professional route is the best way to go.

I don't think it's as expensive as it used to be either.

I suspect as a smoker you would see more benefit from the home kits than the typical person with slight staining (obviously the greater the staining the greater the effect).

My sister spent a fortune on getting her teeth whitened with home kits, toothpastes etc and reckons none of it had any effect - but then shes a none smoker who doesn't drink tea, coffee or red wine....she also spent a small fortune on professional whitening which does seem to have worked, but not enough for her liking as she now wants to get veneers on them. :roll:

Ladies can i just say 'I am an ex smoker', but cheers for the tips, guess the bank account is getting a small hammering then! Anyone recommend anyone in particular to do the job? I live in the London area.

Cheers

Being a smoker, black coffee drinker and enjoying the odd glass of red wine (!!) my teeth have been subject to a multitude of sins.

A Canadian friend of mine suggested "Crest White Strips" (I've never seen them in the shops but they are sold on ebay around the £20 mark) I use them for about a week once every 6 months and then maintain with the Pearl Drops "Replenishing White" or "Hollywood Smile". So far so good and whilst I've yet to kick my vices into touch my teeth don't seem to show the ill effects.

Hope that helps x

My teeth have suffered the wear and tear of 'home' and 'DIY' whitening kits and I'd STRONGLY advise anyone using them to STOP and see a dentist.

My teeth have been weakened to the point I have to have very costly strengthening work done on a regular bases.

The bleaching agent have stripped the enamel and the surface of my teeth have become porous.

Sluicey, see a cosmetic dentist.

Beebs x

Sluicey don't do it. I'm a dental nurse, and it really isn't worth it.
Your teeth haven't lost their colour through smoking, its just a small layer of tar on the top of your teeth. You're far better going to see the dentist/hygenist and getting a scale and polish done. It'll cost you about £60. Tell them you want to get rid of the staining and they'll sort it for you.

If that doesn't work, then get the whitening done professionally, not a home kit. The home kits are not strong enough to whiten teeth properly and can actually do more harm than good.
Think carefully before getting teeth whitened as it can damage them slightly, and you could end up with very sensitive teeth.

THe other thing you could do is if you have an electric tooth brush (much better in my opinion!) is buy some arm and hammer toothpaste, the really gritty stuff, and use that twice a week for a month of so, really concentrating on the badly stained areas. Don't use it every day cos you'll start to wear the enamel off your teeth. Take photos before you start doing it, then once a week take photos so you can see the difference.
Once you've done this for a month and you see an improvement, then start doing it once a week, then once a fortnight til you're only doing it about once a month. Use your normal toothpaste inbetween.

Unfortanately, our teeth get yellower with age, there is nothing we can do about it. Its just years of the enamel wasting away and showing the "yellow" dentine underneath.

Originally Posted by sluice_dweller

Ladies can i just say 'I am an ex smoker', but cheers for the tips, guess the bank account is getting a small hammering then! Anyone recommend anyone in particular to do the job? I live in the London area.

Cheers

I'm not sure of a place in London you could go to, but you could try Groupon London if you want to save money? I don't know if I would go to a teeth whitening place featured by Groupon because you don't know how reputable/trustworthy they are, but you can buy teeth whitening strips which might be good to try first before you try anything too drastic. My friend bought some in Sheffield and they worked quite well - you at least noticed they look less stained.

I'd recommend my dentist in Blackfriars/St Pauls - he is very good. As you know I smoke (and drink red wine) and I go to him every 6 12 months for a clean and polish which sounds like the airbrushing thing Spanner mentioned. It's £100 for check up and clean/polish so I guess just clean/polish would be cheaper

watch and shoot!!

I've used the Crest Whitening Strips recommended above and was very happy with them. But I am a non smoker and I don't know how well they'll do with tough stains!

I got sent this today and ordered one, I haven't used it before so can't actually vouch for their effectiveness but it's a pretty good discount!


Teeth whitening kit

i'd still be wary about buying home whitening kits, they usually have a really high %age of peroxide which will give you very sensitive teeth, and can also damage you gums. half the time the trays don't even fit your mouth either

I ended up talking to my dentist, who said he would do them for me as a reward for giving up! So all good in the end!

That's really good point Mrs M, I have sensitive enough teeth already!

The places where you can get it done for a few hundred quid, like in shopping centres and "beauty" places, are they even any better than a home kit?!

No, they just buy the kits from the internet too. The best place to get it done is the dentist. I'm not sure how much it costs now a days but you'll get a tray that fits properly and they'll give you a low %age peroxide gel which is better for you.
I did mine as a trial for a dentist I worked for and it was great, there was a noticeable difference just after wearing it for 3 nights.

Originally Posted by Jessticles

The places where you can get it done for a few hundred quid, like in shopping centres and "beauty" places, are they even any better than a home kit?!

I don't know about the DIY kits, but I recently had my teeth whitened at a pop-up place in my local gym... it did work pretty well I thought, but it was probably one of the most uncomfortable things I've had done.. the gel and lights open up the pores (do teeth have pores??) and because I have sensitive teeth, it wasn't a fab experience. But, if you have regular teeth, go for it! Results are very good : )

Don't let the door slap your arse as you leave, there's a good chap!!

i fancy a spam sarnie all of a sudden , anyone else?