Beauty

[SahmIam]

The strips do not. The drug store toothpastes do not. The ZOOM treatment (2) of them at the dentist did not.

I don't smoke, I don't drink tea or coffee. I brush 3 times a day and see the dentist every 6 months. I'm told it's simply normal ageing of the teeth. Is there ANYTHING that DOES work?

[ChynnaBlue]

The white strips do work for me. If ZOOM treatments didn't work for you, I think that means the yellowing is not just affecting the surface of the teeth and won't be reversible. If you really want white teeth, veneers might be the best option, but they are expensive.

[SahmIam]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I won't do veneers (the more I researched it, the more I thought " No way").

Sad thing is, it just looks....bad. Yet, I'm stuck with it (as are many). *sigh*

[GSPgirl]

You may have seen my response on the other teeth whitening post.  Teeth whitening through your dentist is the best IMO.  I tried everything and even had a dentist tell me that I wasn't a good candidate for the procedure.  I changed dentists and had a mouth guard made for me.  That was in 2002.  I still use the same guard and buy the bleaching gel every six months.  My teeth got really white.  I bleach about once a month when I go to bed.  It's cheaper now through a dentist than it was 14 years ago.  You can also look around for a dentist who will give it to you free or at a discount for coming to him/her.  

[2blonde]

@SahmIam  I'm not going to ask your age, but I'm going to tell you mine......67.  I have always had the whitest natural teeth........just brushing, nothing else.  When I had a crown put on a front tooth in my twenties, they told me they had to use the whitest color for it that was available.

The last year or two I started looking at my smile, and I realized that same tooth is now whiter than the rest of my (natural) teeth.  I tried whiteners, and they didn' really make much difference.  I realized my teeth are not yellow.......they just aren't as white as they used to be.  If your teeth look like that, it's probably because the enamel wears off as we age, and it cannot be replaced.  The only solution is to get veneers, which is very expensive!

[HappyDaze]

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@ChynnaBlue wrote:

The white strips do work for me. If ZOOM treatments didn't work for you, I think that means the yellowing is not just affecting the surface of the teeth and won't be reversible. If you really want white teeth, veneers might be the best option, but they are expensive.

---

I agree- the white strips worked for me as well when I used them a few years ago. I was surprised, actually. My teeth are naturally pretty white but I wanted to brighten then up a bit and the strips did that. However, if you have really yellow teeth, I bet they wouldn't be enough to make a difference.

[Shelbelle]

My hygienist says as we age our teeth naturally turn yellow or grey, cant be helped.

I use Colgate Optic White paste and Arm and Hammer Truly Radiant Rinse. Supersmile did not work for me.

[novamc1]

I went through a lengthy but highly successful tooth-whitening treatment  through my dentist.  I needed  to get all my teeth to match some brand new porcelain veneers that were going to be applied to  my four upper front teeth, which had chipped and looked bad.

The professional treatment requires making a plaster cast of your upper and lower jaw, then having "trays" made to fit over your teeth that will contain whitening gel......I seem to recall you needed to keep them in your mouth for a couple hours or so every day, but have forgotten.  The trays are not readily visible to others, and I even wore them out of the house.

The whitening gel contains flouride, I'm told, so it does your teeth some good while it's whitening.  The whole treatment is not cheap, but wow.......great results!  I'm considering doing it again--- I do drink coffee so I think I can use it.

[SahmIam]

Thank you all for your replies!!

I'm 52. I had braces in my teens and what appears to have happened is where I had brackets is where they are yellow but the tops and back teeth are very white. I have trays which were made by the same dentist who did ZOOM and bought gels from my own dentist...no difference.

Someone mentioned about the normal yellowing of teeth as we age and yes, I've been told that by 4 professionals (2 cosmetic dentists, the one who did the zoom, and my personal dentist whom I love and trust, lol).

I won't do veneers so... I guess I'll just have to live with it. One can always hope, you know, that something worked for those with my teeth issues. Ah well.

[MomCat]

Well, I just returned from a dentist appt for cleaning, and the dentist and 2 assistants asked me what I did to have such white teeth.  I have sensitive teeth, so I use Synsodyne with whitening, and I use Crest white strips 3 days in a row, once a month.  The dentist said she had nothing that would make them any whiter than they are.  Hope this helps, and I really think it's the toothpaste contributing the most.