Weddingbee Blog

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I went in for my semi-annual dental cleaning yesterday morning. As an afterthought, I asked the dentist about teeth whitening, and the next thing I knew they were taking a plaster mould of my mouth. He said I was a good candidate, as I have healthy teeth and gums and my teeth could use some brightening.

(See how yellow my teeth are on the chart thing? I marked it myself.)

The dentist said that, given the time frame, I should be okay to bleach for the next month or so, but need to start right away. He doesn’t advocate the in-office, one-hour procedure, as it causes extreme sensitivity, is expensive, and the results aren’t that good. So I believed him. And when he said the in-office procedure was expensive, I thought the implication was that the gradual, fitted-mouth tray approach would be more reasonable in comparison. So when I checked out, I was surprised to be charged $400 (separate from the cleaning)!!!

Apparently, the big initial investment is the custom-moulded tray. The bleach solution is not very expensive, but the key is to have a snug fit with the tray. He says the over the counter-brands are okay, but they won’t give the whitening effect that I want because of the loose delivery mechanism (rubber hot-water-moulded strips or film strips).

They were very quick about creating the trays, and I picked them up that afternoon. The doc instructed me on how to apply the solution and used an initial (strong) 45% solution that I wore for about 30 minutes (the one I would use would be 20% and I’d wear it overnight). I must say the custom trays are amazing! I’ve done over the counter bleaching before and my gums always got irritated because the trays were never snug enough (so I never followed through with it). These moulded trays are incredible; they feel snug and no bleach leaks to the back of my throat or up towards my gums. My teeth were a little sensitive afterwards, though.

Last night I followed the directions and put some solution in the tray, being careful not to put too much of it along the bottom part of the tray, as excess amounts would be too harsh for my teeth and burn my gums (and waste the product, oh no!). I wore them overnight without a problem and took them out in the morning to reveal noticeably whiter teeth. Now I’m not talking 10 shades whiter, but definitely an improvement.

So I’m supposed to wear them every night this week, then switch to every other night for the remaining weeks until the wedding! Inevitably, there will be some sensitivity, so I’m supposed to go back and see the dentist in a couple weeks to check the progress and get some magic salve or something if my teeth get too uncomfortably sensitive.

I hope I don’t end up with blinding white Chiclets, looking like Regis Philbin (or worse, Steve Wynn):

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My dentist says that your teeth should not be whiter than the whites of your eyes. Wish me luck!!!

What’s your experience with teeth whitening? What products have you found to be effective?