<p>Possible guide for whiteness that will not look so fake ; try not to whiten teeth any whiter than the whites of your eyes. This may not be bright enough for many but it is generally the limit of a natural look.</p>
<p>I just finished my second $19 box of dissolving whitening strips. Put on four a day for 14 days. No significant effect, though I do drink a lot of coffee. I think they’re basically worthless.</p>
<p>In the 18th Century, women would stain one or more of their teeth black, as a sign of beauty.</p>
<p>I had Zoom whitening and was very pleased with the results. Some of the people on TV look too whitened, though, and fake. (like Greta Van Susteren. NOBODY is born with teeth THAT color!)</p>
<p>Because I’m frugal, I tried the teeth whitening bleach trays from the dentist first, but the bleach burned my gums…painful!!</p>
<p>Try drinking cola, coffee and tea through a straw, teeth don’t get stained that way.</p>
<p>does anyone know if whitening strips would work for me? i have always had chalky enamel, since i was a baby.</p>
<p>“Keep in mind that fillings & crowns do not whiten, so if you have any of these that show when you smile, they will no longer match after your teeth whiten.”</p>
<p>That answers a question that I have had since the first time I heard a commercial for Brite Smile. Thanks. One of my front teeth is a crown (the result of a boys-will-be-boys rough-housing episode from my youth). My dentist made the crown match the real tooth so closely that no one knows that it is a crown. I guess I’d better not help them out by artificially making the colors different.</p>
<p>I tried to use the Aquafresh whitening trays and they lasted all of about 2 minutes in my mouth…Y-U-K!!! I was foaming at the mouth and didnt know whether or not to spit or swallow!! I spit, everything into the trashcan! I’ll stick to whitening toothpaste.</p>
<p>My mom and sister thought the Crest whitestrips were fine. No complaints about taste.</p>
<p>After reading this thread, I went out and bought the Listerine quick dissolving strips. It’s so much better than the Crest strips. It dissolves on your teeth in about 5 minutes and doesn’t interfere with talking at all. You don’t even notice it’s there.</p>
<p>Hmmm. May give the Listerine ones a try. Younger S and older D have asked if they could try strips. Our dentist said it would be OK. I don’t think there’s a danger of over-whitening here- I’m not exaggerating when I say that there are people in our family whose teeth are naturally a light tan.</p>
<p>Dissolving strip people - come back on in a week or so and let us know how it’s going. Didn’t work for me, but I wonder if that’s a reflection of my coffee habit.</p>
<p>S used Crest Whitestrips this summer. His teeth, which were dull looking after his braces came off, now look perfect.</p>
<p>Careful - overdoing the whole teeth whitening can lead to the thinning of enamel (which can lead to serious problems).</p>
<p>Thanks - I always wondered if whitening affected the enamel or not</p>
<p>I’ve been using the Listerine strips for the past couple of days and I’m already beginning to see a difference; however, my teeth were not horribly discolored to begin with.</p>
<p>Bright Smile in the Washington D.C. area is advertising a discount on their procedure – all the way down to $300 bucks! That’s too much for me…but when my dh’s braces come off (had to have them at 50, poor soul) he’ll probably have it done. My d had staining on her teeth from a medication she was on as a little girl – looked like this 7 yr old had a serious coffee habit! – and the White Strips were recommended by her dentist. It did improve the look some but time was the most help. Now that she’s a teen, her teeth are no different than most of her peers – except those with a serious whitening habit!</p>