whitening trays with gel - correct dose and effectiveness?

fizzy

I have just started doing whitening treatment with my dentist.
I have not opted for the in-chair / zoom etc once-off procedure, as I am very nervous and find dental procedures difficult to say the least!
Instead, I got trays made for my teeth and am using whitening gel at home.
To kick start the treatment, I had the first gel treatment at the dentist, where a stronger solution was used in the trays.

I am using a DayWhite ACP 9.5% 2.4ml gel syringe/pen at home each day for 1-1.5 hours and started today. However, even though I only put a tiny bead in each tooth in the tray, I have used up 1/3 of the tube which my dentist says should last 10 days! However, when I googled the gel, all the sites I found (American sites mind you) state that a syringe lasts 3 days, which matches up exactly with my usage. Here's the page on what I think is the manufacturer's site:
http://www.discusdental.com/products/whitening/day_white_single.php#snb_top

My dentist says not to mind what the sites say, and that amount would damage my gums etc, although today's "overdose" would not have done any harm. But I think it will be tricky to use a lot less gel, and am also concerned as to whether such a small amount will be effective.

My teeth are quite yellow in places (a combination of acne antibiotics, braces and a penchant for fizzy sweets I suppose, although I don't smoke or drink wine or coffee) and it would be great to get them looking a bit more creamy/white (not after bright white!) now that I finally have my braces off. However, I know I can't go through the in-chair one off procedure, and I don't think the initial stronger bleach session did anything much, so while it's early days, I'm a bit dubious about how much the at home gel will do, especially used in much smaller amounts than the US websites state.

I would really appreciate any input from dentists or other people who have used this whitening system.

fonpokno

I used whitening trays with gel that I got from my dentist and I did find them good! I can't remember what the concentration was but it did brighten my teeth quite a bit. When I was using them a tube lasted me about....5 or 6 days?

Are you filling the whole trays right back to your back teeth? Cos that's a bit of a waste. There's not much point in having shiny white back teeth that'll never be seen when you smile. I only did 8 teeth on top and 8 below because they're the only ones visible when I smile. Stick with it and you should see a difference fairly soon!

fizzy

thanks for the reply fonpokno. i can see how i might be able to eek 5-6 days out of a tube alright, but i don't know about 10!

i was doing 10 teeth as instructed but i guess i could stop at 8 too! i've had 4 teeth out (+ 4 wisdom) so my teeth might be a bit more forward, maybe that's why she said 10??

also, i am only putting gel on the front side in the tray and then only about half way up, because dentist said it spreads up itself when you put them in. so just one little dot in each tooth and then spreading it around with the tip to fill the bottom half of the front half.

i'm glad it worked well for you. hopefully it will for me too

Big_G

That is hydrogen peroxide I think that you are using so you do have to be careful with it. It doesn't take a lot to get a good colour change and you should notice a change after 2-3 days of using it.

You are better off not doing the Zoom anyway. I always recommend the take home kit (even though it is cheaper) to my patients.

fizzy

Thanks for the advice Big G. It is Hydrogen Peroxide alright, which had me a bit freaked, but I figure if my dentist gave it to me it must be safe - she says the whitening stuff is completely different to the cosmetic salon stuff?

You say the take home trays are cheaper, but the treatment is costing me 350 euro and I seem to see Zoom advertised for around this price now? I haven't read up on that though due to my dental phobia, so I could have that wrong...

Big_G

fizzy wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Big G. It is Hydrogen Peroxide alright, which had me a bit freaked, but I figure if my dentist gave it to me it must be safe - she says the whitening stuff is completely different to the cosmetic salon stuff?

You say the take home trays are cheaper, but the treatment is costing me 350 euro and I seem to see Zoom advertised for around this price now? I haven't read up on that though due to my dental phobia, so I could have that wrong...

I'm sure you could find it for that if you shopped around. I still think, all things including price being equal, the take home kit is a superior option. Most bleaching experts that I have listened to would concur.
Its not the same as the salon peroxide, it has buffers and other chemistry in it. But it will damage soft tissue, so be careful.

fizzy

Big_G, what do you mean by "soft tissue"?
Thanks

Big_G

fizzy wrote: »

Big_G, what do you mean by "soft tissue"?
Thanks

Anything soft in the mouth or around the mouth.

fizzy

Thanks Big_G - I know that was a bit of a thick question!
I was just checking in case certain bits of teeth themselves could be seen as soft tissue e.g. i have shortened roots on a few teeth after braces, and I thought these might be vulnerable...