Teeth whitening kits

[Marmitepeanutbutterandhoney]

I have been having a difficult time of it recently, and now I want to give myself some TLC.

First job: teeth.

I would ideally like them a bit whiter, I once asked my dentist about it and she said I could go through them and it would cost in the region of £300-400.

I don’t have that much to spend, so I started looking at kits you can do at home. Haven’t a clue where to start. I just looked on the Boots website and they seem a bit, hmmm, too cheap to work?

I’d be grateful if you could share your experiences or help me choose which to get!

Thanks

I’ve just seen you can get a “zoom” package on Groupon for around £150.

Any good?

It's illegal to sell effective tooth whitening in the UK unless you are a dentist so no, home kits won't work.

Also... IMO ethical dentists don't sell their wares on groupon...

Oh well you learn something new everyday! I didn’t know that - thanks for the info.

I've tried a lot of internet kits and nothing works imho. Waste of money.

I'm currently coming to the end of wearing a brace and have asked my orthodontist to sort out whitening for me when I'm metal free. Trays and gel etc will be £200.

But you can get tooth whitening gel on eBay....
If you have sensitive teeth it can make your teeth ache as they contain hydrogen peroxide.
Polanight is gentlest on the teeth., IME. I used to get it from my dentist but got fed up with paying over 12b quid for four syringes. It is much cheaper on eBay.
May not be strictly legal but I've had no problems getting it.
You can also get Crest Whitestrips, a lot of people like them but I find them a bit harsh.
Your dentist's charge will include getting a mould fitted for your teeth too.

or even 120 quid.... 😄

I've done the trays from the dentist.

They work, but my goodness my teeth were sensitive afterwards for quite a while.

I don't usually suffer from sensitive teeth so I word of caution if you already do...

I did mine via the dentist. It was less than you mentioned - more like £200 - and most of that cost is for having custom-fitted trays made. Once you've done a course of whitening and used up all the gel you can easily buy more for £30 or so, and repeat it a year later.

It definitely worked, but I found the trays uncomfortable to wear (there's no way I could sleep in them so I wore them each evening after work), my teeth ached and I got REALLY sore gums; you are supposed to keep it off your gums but in practice that's quite hard to do. Quite an unpleasant few days, I found.

I will repeat it again next year, but I'm not looking forward to it.

I tried using the trays and gel from my dentist. I have a high pain threshold but the shooting stabbing pain I experienced was too much for me so I never completed it.

Wouldn't bother with home kits as they aren't strong enough. Either do the dentist ones or not at all.

Dentist would be the best way to go, you don’t have to go your own dentist. What’s your budget?

I have tried a home kit from boots - to be fair it does brighten and lift stains a bit, it’s not completely useless. (I can’t remember what it’s called as I couldn’t find it on their website, it had a gel, toothpaste and tray)

Our dentist does tooth whitening for £190 so phone around.