How do you keep your teeth white?

[FloralMoon]

I had my teeth whitened at a dental surgery a couple of years ago ahead of my wedding. They now look a bit dull so could do with a top up.

I still have the trays but would need to re-register at the dentist (approx £150) and then buy more of the whitening solution (think it’s about £30 per tube - but that was 2 years ago so I expect it will be more now).

I noticed a lot of the Mums at the baby group I’m in (from antenatal group and we all have 2-3 month olds so don’t imagine they’ve had time time to go and get them professionally whitened recently) have very white teeth and I just wonder which method people tend to use?

I’ve heard Crest strips are good but they aren’t licensed here which makes me suspicious of what I’d actually be buying online and not want to risk it!

Do you have any home whitening products you really rate? I think I’d like to maintain the whiteness rather than have such a long gap again so they don’t become dull like they are now. Maybe the dentist is the best option but just wanted to ask..

My understanding is that the Crest strips are licensed in the US so are fine if you are getting the genuine article (I’ve heard of people getting friends/family to buy them when they go to the US on holiday/business). It’s the ones you buy online from questionable sources that you have to be careful of.

Electric toothbrush on a "whitening" setting + whitening toothpaste (couple of times a month I also put it in my night time retainers). Also only drink 1 coffee in the morning and then green tea (no black tea). Can't do the whitening with gel, get horrible "zinger" sensitivity 🙄

I’ve wondered what the setting does to enable it to whiten teeth? Presume a more thorough clean than a standard setting?
Good idea with the toothpaste in the trays, I’d not thought of that

@FloralMoon mine claims to be "ultrasonic" whatever that means in the realm of toothbrushes.

I'd be worried doing it at home.

When you do it with the solution and the moulds, don't you have to keep a non-staining diet for ages? I had mine whitened for the first time earlier this year, but it was with a lamp at the dentist's. A week's worth of a bland white diet followed.

I was quite happy with it and they've remained (so far) as they were, though I drink coffee and sometimes wine. They didn't get to 'pearly white', but they were significantly whitened and in particular my canines, which were the most discoloured, were much improved.

Did the whitening with lamps at the dentists hurt? I’ve tried the gel and found it v painful due to tooth sensitivity…

I'm not a smoker but use Pearl whites smokers toothpaste. I used it to get tea stains off my teeth but have carried on and 3 months on they are noticeably much whiter. It's not a quick solution but use it has definitely worked in the long run for me

If you've still got the trays then you can just buy the peroxide gel online for significantly less than at the dentist. I get mine from here:

https://newhappysmileuk.com/

I started with the same strength that I originally got from the dentist (10% carbamide peroxide) and have just increased to 16% as you only need to wear the trays for an hour at a time at that strength. I've been using this brand for years now and I'm really happy with them.

The dentist I saw told me that was somewhat of a myth but also to go easy on coffee/tea etc whilst using the treatments so I’m not really sure!

Yes I’ve still got them thank goodness!
Thanks for the recommendation- I’m always worried about stuff like this from online so good to know you’re been happy with their products

I used the Crest white strips about 10 years ago and they work really well.

Unfortunately my teeth are too sensitive now.

I know two who used the trays in the UK (my lamp whitening was in my home country). One said that she ate beetroots too early and got a pink stain! The other said that the whitening wasn't effective for her.

I took the approach that it was better safe than sorry. Though to be fair, when I had scale and polish and fluorisation at the same dental clinic, I was also told to avoid coffee that day and the next. I did that, but the same day I had chicken soup and dumplings with chicken/beef filling, so ate normally.

I had no pain at all, during or after. I felt once or twice a brief 'sting' in the teeth, when I sort of sucked air in, but that was all the sensitivity I had.

The discomfort was that you had this mould in your mouth for IIRC 10 minutes at a time, done 4 times, so that your mouth is held open and the teeth exposed to the lamp. I have a strong gag reflex. The first few minutes were uncomfortable. Although really the worse experience was the 10 minutes I had a mould in with some pink foam at the completion of a scale/polish/fluorisation session, where I was really feeling the gag reflex. That was earlier in the week than the whitening, so perhaps why I had a milder reaction for the whitening, due to the recent experience.

Oh yikes, definitely better to be on the safe side then! No beetroots for a week! 😂