Teeth whitening

Santa Claus

Was at the dentist today to have a filling replaced and the dentist commented that my teeth were in great shape but slightly discoloured.
Now my oral hygiene is very good, brush twice a day and floss every 2nd day but I drink a fair bit of coffee and like red wine. I'm 30 now so I suppose year of coffee etc is bound to have caused some discolouration.

Anyway the dentist has a system called "discus dental" that he recommends. Apparently he takes an impression of your teeth and then makes a tray to fit your upper and lower teeth. You then take these away along with a kit of paste which you apply using the tray twice a day for 30 minutes or you can leave it in overnight.

Has anyone else used this system and if so how did you find the results ?

ozmo

Sounds very strong. Rembrandt toothpaste is milder, very expensive but very good .

Kernel32

My wife has used a system like that from the dentist, very good results and reuseable once you have the trays. All you need to do is buy more of the paste stuff.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Santa Claus wrote:

Apparently he takes an impression of your teeth and then makes a tray to fit your upper and lower teeth. You then take these away along with a kit of paste which you apply using the tray twice a day for 30 minutes or you can leave it in overnight.

Isn't this essentially bleaching? That's what it sounds like.
I plan on getting this done aswell at some point.

ozmo wrote:

Rembrandt toothpaste is milder

Yeah, my dentist mentioned that stuff aswell... do you know where to get this stuff? I assume supermarkets don't carry it if it's as expensive as it's supposed to be.
Also do you know if it bleaches? or is it just really abrasive?

athena 2000

Santa Claus wrote:

Was at the dentist today to have a filling replaced and the dentist commented that my teeth were in great shape but slightly discoloured.

The bleaching/whitening systems are generally good in my experience, but when was the last time you had your teeth cleaned and polished? That may be all you need and you can save the extra expense! Be sure you don't weaken your great pearlies with anything too harsh.

bonzai bob

Was he a dentist or a salesman?

Santa Claus

Athena - Had teeth cleaned & polished yesterday while he was waiting for anaesthetic to kick in to do filling.

ozmo - Some of the whitening toothpastes out there can damage the enamel on your teeth as they just remove stains from the enamel fairly abrasively.
The colour of your teeth is actually based on the colour of your dentine which is under the enamel. Apparently enamel is semi-porous so this paste seeps through the enamel to the dentine and bleach it.

And no the guy is not a salesman, he's a mate who I went to school with and played rugby with for years so I'm fairly sure he's not trying to rip me off.

bonzai bob

well he said your teeth are in great shape, so so what about the discolouration? No one has icy whites except the people on those toothpaste adds:)

skywalker

Whats the cost of the system he reccommended out of interest? Considering something similar myself. After years of orthodontics I have fantastic teeth, but they are slightly discoloured and I wouldnt mind having them looking their best.

There was a thread on teeth whitening on PI not too long ago with some very good info. Apparently you can get all the stuff in the kit online, much cheaper.

WizZard

I'd also love to know the cost (or near enough if you're getting mate's discount) of this process, if you don't mind. My teeth are in great shape but I'd like them to be a bit whiter sometimes... Like Ross in that Friends episode!

lomb

using abrasive toothpastes arent a good idea long term, they will strip the enamel off your teeth and thin them making them appearing worse in the future as the dentine will shine through. they dont bleach the teeth but remove stains from the microscopic inperfections of the enamel by stipping back the enamel.

i believe if u look hard enough on line u can get dentist strength bleaching agents, the stuff they sell in boots isnt as strong but worth a shot anyway.

as you get older the teeth darken anyway as the dentine inside the teeth gets old and absorbs material from inside the tooth from the blood vessels that run inside the tooth not from the outside thru the enamel. the canines in particular tend to naturally always be yellower than the other teeth as the enamel is thinner, hard brushing with abrasive pastes or hard toothbrushes will destroy ur teeth in a few years as grooves start appearing near the gum where the enamel is thinnest and u go thru into the dentine. then teeth become sensitive and trap food, dont look good etc.

dont use strong bleaches if there are holes in your teeth or have grooves near your gum into dentine or have old large fillings as some is bound to get in and could kill off the nerves as these are powerful chemicals.

ozmo

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Isn't this essentially bleaching? That's what it sounds like.
I plan on getting this done aswell at some point.

Yeah, my dentist mentioned that stuff aswell... do you know where to get this stuff? I assume supermarkets don't carry it if it's as expensive as it's supposed to be.
Also do you know if it bleaches? or is it just really abrasive?

I got it in USA ages ago - about $30 I think was for four tube kit I think (start brushing with strongest and work way down over three weeks).
All irish chemists seem to have it. www.rembrandt.com.
They are chemical - not abrasive.
The Dentist one would be the fastest option - They contain peroxide to bleech quickly. I wouldnt try it myself.
Dont bother with standard toothpaste additives- colgate whitners etc - I've read studies that show they are not effective.

LegacyUser

While this is probably not much help to you, you can get your teeth laser whitened in Bangkok for about 150 euro. Standard of Dentistry is very high there too.

I got it done there last october while on Holiday and was amazed with the results!