Teeth whitening

[bascom]

My dentist is offering Teeth whitening for $99. Should I bite? (pardon the pun). Have you had it done? If so was it worth it?

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

Have you tried the DIY home kit, much cheaper ...

[3602]

It's mostly abrasive particles or corrosives.

[sYlt]

Originally Posted by 3602

It's mostly abrasive particles or corrosives.

The service done by the dentist or the DIY?

[JK98]

The problem with tooth whitening is that if you drink coffee, tea, cola, red wine, or other dark colored liquids, or if you smoke, you will probably need to go for frequent whitening sessions to keep your teeth white. I guess some whitening proceeedures might use plenty of abrasives, while others rely more on lasers and bleaches. Home whitening is much less expensive. How important to you is having white teeth? If you are willing to pay plenty for regular treatments then it might be worth it for you, but for many it doesn't seem worth it.

[IDvsEGO]

My ex had hers done and it worked for sure. Worth it or not is totally up to you. I am thinking about it. I get regular cleanings and have no cavities but still have stains from years of tea and soda drinking. A lot of people i have talked to did the dental office session and use home.kits to maintain the whitening.

[3602]

Originally Posted by sYlt

The service done by the dentist or the DIY?

A much cheaper way is to use "whitening" toothpaste. It's just sand in there grinding down your enamel.

[sideways]

it is a purely cosmetic procedure, if you think you are getting 100 bucks of value out of it go for it. Personally I would pass, but then I think most cosmetic enhancements are a load of BS.

You could also try some some remedy type stuff, I seem to remember lemon juice having a whitening effect and then there is the whole roman/ bear grylls urine metod. I'd probably not try out the BG method myself but it's out there. Read that wiki link I posted as it contains some caveats and warnings about the risks with bleaching your teeth.

As jk98 said your diet will influence how your teeth look. If you cut out soda, smoking and coffee that will already be beneficial and you'll be healthier for it as well.

[sYlt]

Not having whiter teeth can be genetic though, like me, (I assume it's from my dad's side, he's a clockwork on his hygiene yet he has darker/yellower teeth than the average person, he doesn't drink sodas, coffee and never smoked) and I've thought on doing one of these procedures but I haven't gone ahead because there's no 'safer' way. Everything seems either temporary or abrasive.

[steinburger1109]

Home whitening tactics using any sort of acids may whiten your teeth, but at what cost to the enamel? Personally, if I felt that my teeth were discolored enough to warrant a whitening, I'd get it done professionally. Which I could see me doing, were I to have really bad rings like the ones left from improperly cared for braces.

[bascom]

I don't drink coffee or dark soda but I think I'm going to do the teeth whitening for $99. Thanks for the replies.

[sYlt]

Tell us your results after!