Wedding Blog

Speaking of dental cleanings, the best time for whitening procedures is supposedly after a cleaning, when the tooth surface is smooth and primed for the whitening agent.

For those of you without the budget or time to get professional bleaching (my hand is in the air), there are many popular over-the-counter whiteners available at your local drugstore. I know the classic Crest WhiteStrips might seem a little prosaic compared to all the newer stuff like the more expensive/smartly packaged GoSmile and the little WhiteLight gadget, but they seem to have the most consistent positive reviews on the web.

(Photo from http://www.drugstore.com/)

I can recommend them from personal experience - a group of girlfriends and I all decided to simultaneously use the strips, and we were all delighted to find that they worked! I used the Classic kit, the only one available at the time (takes 14 days to complete), but now Crest has two more powerful kits, as well as a “renewal” version (range from 7 to 10-day stints). The flexible, gel-coated strips are easy to apply and one need only wear them for a total of an hour per day, split into two 30-minute sessions.

My only word of warning: you be the judge of just how white you want your teeth to be, and take a good look at pictures of yourself beforehand to make sure you even need whitening. To look natural, teeth shouldn’t be much brighter than the whites of the eyes. In my case, I stopped using the strips consistently after 8 days instead of the full 14, and kept the extras for sporadic maintenance over the next six months. In one of my friends’ case, the 14 days left her with a smile so white it was a little disconcerting to talk with her and see her teeth reflecting light onto her face until they faded a bit.

One more thing: don’t forget your fiance. Neither of you would be pleased with expensive wedding portraits that showcase WhiteStrip before-and-afters.