How does everyone have such white teeth these days?

[QuimReaper]

In the past I've had my teeth professionally whitened by a very expensive dentist with those trays and goo you get, but even then I don't think they were really noticeably white. How does everyone do it? I know people always say 'Crest White Strips' but in this country they still cost an absolute fortune, is everyone secretly using white strips every day like (I am led to believe by American TV shows) Americans do?

I know for a fact these people are tea and coffee drinkers, in some case also smokers, and I'm pretty sure my own tea/coffee habit is average for a British adult, possibly less (about 3 cups a day). My dental hygiene is excellent.

How do they do it?

Veneers maybe?

I'm assuming a lot more people have veneers or implants these days? So you're not actually seeing 'real' teeth?

That's possible, but I thought veneers had gone out of fashion years ago, and the watch word now was straightening natural teeth? I'm talking about random colleagues and acquaintances here, not celebrities and influencers. (Although that said, I know for a fact a lot of 'influencers' have natural teeth but they seem to manage to keep them gleaming white too in spite of forever posing with artisanal flat whites.)

I wonder if the prolific use of antibiotics in the 70s has anything to do with it.

Northern to do with people previously having less white teeth than people nowadays seem to, you mean?

I do have hypoplastic lesions on my back molars, which took forever to come through, and are sort of misshapen with a couple of brown patches (very relieved they're hidden at the back!). I also have a missing set of bottom molars and no wisdom teeth. So I didn't exactly win the dental lottery.

Veneers, bonding etc. I was talking about this with my dentist as I think my teeth aren't white and he was

Veneers aren't in fashion, but a lot of people had them 10 years ago so now will always need them. Celebrities like Stacey Solomon have veneers, but advise their followers not to, but of course their followers want to be like them, so after trying other methods like straightening, home whitening and professional whitening, maybe cosmetic bonding, they more onto veneers and more intensive cosmetic bonding, and if there are dental issues crowns and implants.

I have had lots of failed dentistry and found myself more and more priced out, so there are lots of us without pearly whites too. You just won't see our big wonky tetracycline smiles everywhere, we get good at the closed mouth smile

Veneers aren't in fashion, but a lot of people had them 10 years ago so now will always need them. Celebrities like Stacey Solomon have veneers, but advise their followers not to, but of course their followers want to be like them, so after trying other methods like straightening, home whitening and professional whitening, maybe cosmetic bonding, they more onto veneers and more intensive cosmetic bonding, and if there are dental issues crowns and implants.

I have had lots of failed dentistry and found myself more and more priced out, so there are lots of us without pearly whites too. You just won't see our big wonky tetracycline smiles everywhere, we get good at the closed mouth smile

Eucryl tooth powder. It's exactly brilliant for your enamel but it leaves your teeth very white.

Interesting Natalia - what prompted the thread was that I impulse-bought some stuff called 'Smile' which is supposed to be a stain-removing powder and have just got to the end of it. I didn't notice a massive difference but I didn't remember to use it very frequently. It did make me wonder if there's a product everyone else is using. It was advertised as being completely safe for your enamel and I didn't notice any problems, with my weak enamel I'm very anxious about causing irreversible damage.

My dentist said a lot of people don’t have real teeth - either veneers, implants or dentures.

I'm interested in this thread too, because I've just completed a course of dentist-supervised home-whitening which set me back £400.
I noticed quite a nice (not massive, but reasonable) improvement, but 2 weeks down the line the brightness is already fading nearly back to what it was before. I drink my teas and coffees through a straw now to try and preserve the effect - but I don't think it was worth the money.

I, too, see people with beautifully white natural teeth (definitely not veneers) and wonder how they manage it.

I’m a young adult and don’t drink tea/coffee/fizzy drinks, nor do I smoke. So I suppose that my teeth are naturally bright

However I have still found some gems recently. These will lift stains:

www.boots.com/pro-teeth-whitening-co-premium-dental-whitening-strips-with-activated-charcoal-10252536

I also really like the special Pearl Drops toothpastes that you only use for 2 weeks for whitening and enamel strengthening

toothpaste

overnight serum

A combination of the above 3 products give my teeth a boost

I'm in my early thirties and have pretty white teeth (they are also prone to fillings so not all good!). I brush them at least twice a day, but also if I've eaten something like cake/chocolate etc I usually brush them after if I'm at home. I'm not obsessive about it.
I don't use whitening toothpaste because I thought it took a layer of enamel off? My tendency for fillings means I want to keep all my enamel.
I don't do any other whitening things either. My dentist cleans off the plaque for me once a year, but this isn't whitening.

I drink about three cups of tea a day (never coffee) and rarely drink red wine. My tea has milk in it, which I believe helps alleviate staining. I drink copious amounts of water but not juice. I eat well if that matters.

I have no other explanation. Could it be genetics?

Feusty a lot of your examples are to do with dental hygiene though, rather than whiteness - I don't think chocolate or cake or juice contribute to yellowing teeth. I also rarely drink black coffee and never drink red wine. I do think there's a genetic aspect to it but I've been noticing it a lot more lately - maybe I'm just getting more self-conscious!

As OnTheSeaShore says, I think usually veneers are very obvious - when I had Invisalign treatment a few years ago the orthodontist recommended veneers on a couple of teeth for me, and said they're now usually used strategically on teeth which affect the symmetry (i.e. in my case 'peggy' lateral incisors), and very few people now have their whole mouth done unless their teeth are really beyond help.

I brush my teeth with peroxyl mouthwash and either baking soda or lush toothy tabs to remove stains... and it really works. Then I follow up with enamel strengthening toothpaste and maybe a fluoride mouthwash. It sounds like a palaver but is cheap and effective.

I agree, whiteness is probably not related to cake etc - was just giving an honest description of what I do, that's all. I think my post actually shows that whiteness is not to do with behaviour (unless you do drink black tea/coffee/red wine), but likely genetics.

Veneers or cosmetic bonding is the thing now ! I've just had my teeth whitened with the dentist and they are awesome! I had straight teeth before so the whitening makes all the difference ! Some people have implants too. They are def not out of fashion ! Hardly anyone famous has their own teeth !

Also if you have thicker enamel, your teeth with look much whiter. If the enamel has thinned due to erosion or is naturally thinner, your teeth will look greyer and more translucent.

I think it’s cosmetic bonding, it looks much more natural than veneers.

This reminds me of an episode of Come Dine with me years back where one of the people in it wouldn’t stop whitening her teeth at home with whitening kits. Her dentist said she was damaging her teeth and she continued regardless. I sometimes wonder what her teeth are like now.

Teeth aren’t meant to be bright white. Young children’s teeth are meant to be white, but adult teeth are not. Whatever people you know are going to get bright white teeth you can be sure they’ll pay that price later.

@justanotherneighinparadise she probably has a mouth full of veneers!

Sonic toothbrush - and not the cheap ones you find at the supermarket. I used to whiten my teeth using strips but I haven’t had to do that in years now. And I get frequent comments about my teeth (it’s a little weird).

As a bonus I only go to the dentist once a year because I don’t have any plaque. At one point my hygienist causally asked if I’d been going somewhere else for a cleaning in between visits.

www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Sonicare-DiamondClean-Electric-Toothbrush/dp/B01LWSU3EO/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=sonic+toothbrush&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1618510937&sr=8-4

@TTCAbroad I've been looking at that toothbrush, is it really that good?
And does the charging glass need to be plugged in to charge the toothbrush?