Mrs CB mentioned, on the Botox thread, that she would like to get her teeth whitened.
I've had it done and am happy to share my experience and thoughts and would love to hear everyone else's ideas.
I started by buying a kit - over the Internet - from The Smile Place. For £99 they sent me some plasticine-y stuff and some plastic cups to put it in and bite into. You post this off and they send you back custom made "trays" for your teeth and some whitening gel (16%).
I tried to use this every day for two hours but the unbearably sensitivity and -frankly- pain was dreadful. I gave up after about a week. My teeth were a bit whiter but not much. Really disappointing experience.
A couple of years later, I decided to have the one off Zoom whitening at the dentist. £450. The whole experience was horrible and mega sensitive but my teeth were whiter although not THAT white! After spending £450! The dentist said that some people have the treatment repeated... Well Ibwasn't going to spend another £450.
We're now about two years on from that and I have dug out my old trays. I came across an old Daily Mail article online that said that Whiter Than White was the best company to get gel from so I ordered four tubes for about £27 including P and P. I ran out, however, and had to order another four. I'd have been better off going for the ten-tube pack for (I think) £49. They do 16% or 11%. I decided to go for 16%, even though my teeth are sensitive, because I want good and fast results.
I'm really, really impressed - I used it for forty minutes, twice a day (seems to be much easier for me than once a day for two hours) with good effects. Best news is that I have had very little sensitivity with this one!
A friend of mine maintains the whiteness of his teeth by -about once a month - putting the gel/ trays in overnight. I think the gel is supposed to oxidise or stop working after two days but he swears he gets a better result from doing it overnight than just two hours during the day.
One last point - you are supposed to avoid tea/coffe/curry etc while you are going through the process and for a few days after, but I didn't.. Stupid really, but I can't live without a few cups of PG in the morning.
For anyone starting out with this, from my experiences, I'd recommend buying the whitening kit from Whiter than White. Get a competent friend to help you take the impressions and then do it religiously for two weeks - forty minutes, twice a day, and avoid tea/coffee etc.
Anyone got any thoughts on my friend's "once a month overnight to maintain the whiteness" approach?
Also, I really hope there's no long-term damage to tooth enamel from all of this... Anyone know?