Teeth bleaching-long answer
Hi Jillybean and all!
Whitening your teeth is sort of like bleaching your hair. Once you do it yourself it's awkward and you realize why it costs so much to get the custom fit trays! But you can do it yourself with the Crest system or any system that provides you with the gel containing carbamide peroxide.
The peroxide lightens the teeth all the way through and it lasts forever. But the yellowing actually continues. Contrary to what the ads say, and what many people believe, the real culprit of yellowness is the actual dentin or the stuff teeth are made of. At least this is what I learned in school.
Each tooth is "capped" with enamel. This is very hard, and light colored. The rest of the tooth is made of a yellow substance called dentin. It is softer than enamel and that is why you often see a little groove at the gumline where the dentin is weaker, eroded from brushing and perhaps from the pressure of clenching our teeth (which we do when we lift heavy! But I digress!)
Anyway, over time (age) the dentin grows slowly into the pulp chamber which means that light shining through the teeth passes thru thicker yellow dentin, making the appearance darker.
So when you bleach your teeth the first time (I suggest "blinding" as your goal shade, LOL) then the dentin continues to do this, so after a few months or years you might want to give it a "recharge."
As for different systems, I have heard and seen a lot of ads and here's some info. I only know from first hand experience the type that you get at the dentist's office, take home and apply 5 times to 100 times depending on what kind of staining you have (even tetracycline stains can be significantly lightened). The trays are thin clear plastic trays that fit over your teeth like a glove all the way around to the back side.
Crest's system just covers the front of the tooth. If you go ahead and get it though, it costs so much less and the bleach works its way all the way through eventually, so you will end up seeing results.
I bet you could find something even more effective though. You know, a person is not required by law to have any qualifications to give you a bleaching system, just like the take-home one from the dentist's office. In fact, a hygienist in (Michigan?) some state has a bleaching salon in a mall somewhere. It's inexpensive to take impressions and form the trays so you may find this process somewhere for an affordable price. It is the most effective system I know.
One warning about the in-office procedure (all-at-once)- some of these use an acid etchant on the teeth beforehand, to make the bleach "take" into the tooth more. I recommend against letting them do that because it takes the shine away from your teeth and creates a more matte surface, that picks up surface stain faster.
As for the safety of using these products: no one has ever harmed their teeth (to my knowledge) with these. The higher percentages of bleach can make your teeth feel sensitive while using them. The cure for this is just lay off a few days or get a weaker solution. Using it too much can do the same as acid etching, so I suggest 2 weeks, daily as the top end.
Floss and brush well before using it, and do not eat while using it. The bleach actually kills germs around the gumline. The bleaching effect was initially discovered by using Gly-oxide gel for a gum infection and noticing lighter teeth in the vicinity.
Sorry so long, and feel free to e-mail me for more info.
-Connie
