Teeth Whitening Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

Tanda Pearl Ionic Teeth Whitening

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

Do you know if the Tanda Pearl Ionic Teeth Whitening is a safe option? Does it really work? I keep seeing that you only have to wear it for 5 minutes at a time in order to get professional results. I have teeth whitening trays and gel from my dentist but when I wear it for the 20 minutes he suggests it aggravates my TMJ. The idea of getting results in 5 minutes sounds appealing. The reviews seem to be mixed, though.

Misty

Dear Misty,

Traditional Teeth Whitening Trays

Traditional Versus Tanda Teeth Whitening Trays

Above you see an image of a teeth whitening tray which your dentist would custom design for you. The Tanda Peral System is very different. For one, it is much bulkier. You can’t put it in and go on with your business. It requires you to bite down on the tray until it hardens and then for the whitening you have to keep your mouth closed while wearing it. This is because it fits your upper and lower teeth simultaneously.

Because of that, you could not sleep with it in and you’d certainly feel weird wearing it in public as it is quite noticeable. The professional trays are different. They’re made out of thin clear plastic and have separate trays for your upper and lower teeth. You could comfortably sleep with them as well as be seen in public without anyone knowing that you are wearing teeth whitening trays.

Traditional Versus Tanda Teeth Whitening Wearing Time

Your dentist recommended a 20 minute wearing time and Tanda Pearl says 5 minutes. Those times could be flipped if you wanted. You could wear your dentist’s trays for 5 minutes and the Tanda Pearl for 20. The duration you wear the trays affects how quickly your teeth whiten. If you wear them for fewer minutes a day, you just have to wear them more days. The reverse is true as well. My guess is the 5 minutes a day quoted is because of how difficult it is to keep your top and bottom arch closed together for any lengthy period of time.

If the traditional trays aggravate your TMJ problems, the Tanda trays will feel significantly worse. I’d talk to your dentist about your trays to make sure the tray is fitted properly. If it is, you can simply cut back on the time you whiten each day.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Can Whitening Trays Replace a Retainer?

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I just finished my Invisalign treatment and my dentist wants me to wear a retainer for about a year. I’m not too keen on wearing something visible after having my teeth straightened invisibly, but didn’t see that I had much of a choice. Now, I’ve lost it. I’ve torn the house apart looking for it to no avail. I don’t know what to do. I don’t have a ton of money I’d like to wait until after the holidays to get a new one made. I happened to find my whitening trays while looking for my retainer. Can I wear those until I have money? They fit well.

Laura M.

Dear Laura,

Congratulations on finishing your Invisalign treatment. I bet you’re loving your new smile. I’m sure it feels conspicuous wearing a metal retainer after Invisalign. I’m surprised your orthodontist didn’t mention there are clear retainers available. When you talk to your dentist about replacing your retainer, be sure to ask him or her to list all the options available to you, even the ones they don’t do at their office.

Unfortunately, your teeth whitening trays won’t make a good substitute. Whitening trays are purposefully made soft and flexible. This makes them quite comfortable to wear, which is great if you’re whitening your teeth but no so great if you need something to hold them firmly in place. The longer it’s been since the completion of your treatment, the better. Your teeth will be more firmly in place.

Your teeth are always on the move in some fashion and will start to shift again. You’ll need that retainer to keep them in place. A retainer is designed to give your teeth time to get used to remaining in the correct position.

I realize you don’t have much money, but this is important. If you still have your Invisalign aligners, it might not be a bad idea to wear the final set while your dentist makes you a new retainer. Many dentists have options for paying out services. For instance, Dr. Dennis uses Care Credit, which allows patients to get interest-free payment plans. This gives patients time and helps to break up the financial burden without the penalty of interest you’d get with traditional credit cards.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Holistic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Supersmile or Teeth Whitening

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

My dental bonding is looking a bit worse for wear. Would I be better off using Supersmile Toothpaste or should I get my teeth and bonding whitened?

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

A lot of what you do depends on the type of stains you are talking about. Supersmile toothpaste does a great job of taking off surface stains of teeth. Unlike other “whitening” kinds of toothpaste, which use abrasives to remove stains, Supersmile uses Calprox to dissolve the protein pellicle layer that covers your teeth. The stains will attach themselves to that pellicle removing the stains.

If you are talking about more than surface stains, meaning the stains have seeped into the bonding material, then it won’t work.

Unfortunately, neither will teeth whitening. Even professional whitening gel only works on natural tooth structure. This means your natural teeth will whiten, but your dental bonding (or any other dental work for that matter) won’t change. This will only serve to make the dental bonding look even worse.

Once stains have seeped into the bonding, it is time to replace it. If you’re looking for something more stain-resistant, that can last for many years, you may want to upgrade to porcelain veneers.

These are what people go to for a complete smile makeover. Some cosmetic dentists, like Dr. Dennis, offer digital smile designs, which allow you to see your makeover before any work is done.

This blog is brought to you by Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis or Kalamazoo, MI.

Whitening My Teeth Without Veneers

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I have four porcelain veneers on my very front teeth. They are still beautiful, but the surrounding teeth have picked up stains and look quite yellow compared to the veneered teeth. I’m thinking of using Crest Whitestrips to get rid of those stains, but don’t want to damage the veneers in the process. Will this be okay?

Marilyn

Dear Marilyn,

First, your porcelain veneers will not be damaged by any teeth whitening efforts. Only natural tooth structure is affected. If you are going to use an over-the-counter whitening product, the only one which I currently feel is safe for your natural teeth is Crest Whitestrips.

Other over-the-counter products have ingredients that damage your teeth. This includes whitening toothpastes which use abrasives to remove the stains. The problem with that is that it etches your teeth. Yes, they will be whiter for a time, but because the tooth enamel was damaged they will pick up stains again quickly and end up more stained than they were before. Crest Whitestrips don’t do this and are a safe option.

There is a caveat to this, though. In your situation, it wouldn’t be the ideal. The whitening gel is attached to strips that you will place on your teeth. The problem is they only cover the first six teeth. This is practically useless to you. You could cut them in half and try to place them on the adjacent teeth. However, not only is this a lot of unnecessary work, but you will have to do it much longer than you’d want to.

Any over-the-counter whitening will be significantly weaker than professional teeth whitening. I’m going to suggest if you are going to whiten your teeth to do it right. Having your dentist make you teeth whitening trays and provide you the real deal with whitening gel will do the job much faster and get all the teeth you need whitened.

Another Option to Teeth Whitening

Most smiles, like yours, are much wider than four teeth. If you can afford it you may want to invest in porcelain veneers on the other visible teeth. These are much more stain-resistant than your natural teeth and will last for many years.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI holistic dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Cheap Fix for Tetracycline Stains

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I don’t have a lot of money but do have a lot of tetracycline stains. Someone said that porcelain veneers are the best way to fix this. Are there dental schools that do this at a discount? If not, is there another solution that will work?

Melody

Dear Melody,

Yes, when porcelain veneers are done correctly, they are the ideal solution for tetracycline stains. However, I wouldn’t go bargain hunting for them. You will not like the results. Under the best of circumstances, this cosmetic procedure is very advanced. Tetracycline stains are one of the most difficult cases around and would require one of the best cosmetic dentists.

I’d also ask them what type of experience they have with tetracycline stains and ask to see some before and after pictures. You don’t want someone to practice or gain experience on you with this procedure.

Can Teeth Whitening Fix Tetracycline Stains?

If you can’t afford porcelain veneers, teeth whitening can do some good if you are persistent enough. You would need to use take-home whitening, with custom-fitted trays. Wear them for as long as you can each day, without sensitivity, and you would likely need to use them for several months.

This can lighten up your teeth quite a bit. It won’t be as stunning as porcelain veneers done well, but you will be much happier with your smile.

I recommend seeing a dentist who offers KöR Whitening Thus far, it is the most effective method of teeth whitening on tetracycline stains.

If you do decide you want to try porcelain veneers at a discount anyway, make certain they agree to not permanently bond them on until you are completely satisfied with them. They can place them on with a temporary try-in paste and let you get a good look at them in several different types of lighting. If you’re not thrilled, then they should be back to the lab and try again.

This blog is brought to you by Teeth Whitening Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Do Affordable Teeth Whitening Options Work?

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I don’t have money for whitening my teeth through a dentist, but I’ve been ashamed of my smile for several years now. It seems like every time someone I know smiles they have a bright, white smile; as if everyone has had the ability to get their teeth professionally whitened. It’s given me quite an inferiority complex. I’ve been looking at affordable options, such as Crest Whitestrips and charcoal, but don’t want to spend money if it won’t be useful. What are your thoughts?

Cassie K.

Dear Cassie,

I’m always sad when I hear of people feeling ashamed of their smile. I understand what it’s like to not be able to afford things that are important to you. So what I’m telling you isn’t just to get you into a dentist’s office. It’s designed to protect you.

Do Affordable Teeth Whitening Options Work?

Crest Whitestrips

These will whiten your teeth…slowly. They do work, though. So, if it’s your only option, you won’t damage your teeth and you will move forward with some whitening. They have two drawbacks, though. First, because of safety issues, their whitening gel isn’t very strong. It will take many boxes of the Whitestrips to get to any significant level of whitening. In the end, it might actually be cheaper, not to mention faster, to get it done by your dentist.

The second issue is the number of teeth reached with the whitening strips. Depending on the width of your teeth, the strips only reach 4-6 of your front teeth. Most people’s smiles are much wider than that. That leaves you with two options. Either you can use more strips to cover all your visible teeth when you smile (which costs you more money) or you can have just those few teeth whitened while those adjacent to it remain their current color. This won’t look natural.

Charcoal Teeth Whitening

First, let me clarify that this is referring to activated charcoal, not the charcoal you use to light a grill. This trend is picking up steam as a popular method of teeth whitening due to YouTube and a rapper who tweeted that he always uses it before seeing the ladies. I always cringe when celebrities recommend certain things because people tend to attribute expertise to them which they just don’t have.

Sadly, this new trend isn’t useful but dangerous.

Activated charcoal has an abrasiveness which will scratch your enamel. While the charcoal is absorbent and will temporarily remove some stains, the damage done is permanent and will cause your teeth to not only pick up stains much more quickly, it also puts you at a much greater risk for decay because your teeth are left without the protection given to you by your enamel. Cheap whitening isn’t worth the health of your teeth, leading to the need for fillings or worse, a dental crown.

My suggestion would be to take the money you would spend on Crest Whitestrips every month and put that aside until you have enough for professional teeth whitening. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll have enough money to get it done thoroughly and safely.

If you’re impatient or have a special event coming up where you don’t want to wait, many dentists accept CareCredit. This is a medical credit card of sorts, which has low and even no interest payment plans. This will allow you to get your teeth whitened and slowly pay it out.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Luster Premium At Home Teeth Whitening

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I have a friend who used the Luster Premium At Home Teeth Whitening System. She said it gave her very fast results and she recommends it. I’m wondering about its safety though. Do you know anything about it?

Allison

Dear Allison,

I took a look at the Luster Premium At Home Teeth Whitening. I am going to suggest you do not waste your time or money on it. While it is safe, it doesn’t work. I am sure you are wondering if that is true, why did your friend have such good results.

The main whitening ingredient (and I use that term loosely) in this kit is zinc oxide. This is not a whitener, but rather a pigment. That means it temporarily tints or colors the teeth whiter. This is likely why your friend thought she had some good results. It won’t take too long before her tinting rubs off and she is back to her normal stained teeth.

If you truly want your teeth whitened and want to do it at home, you have two choices. First, the over-the-counter whitening kit put out by Crest Whitestrips. This isn’t as strong as professional teeth whitening, so you will have to purchase quite a few kits. Plus, it will only whiten your front six teeth. But, it does have an actual legitimate teeth whitening ingredient.

Your second option is professional teeth whitening. Your dentist can provide you with custom-fitted whitening trays as well as a whitening gel to wear in the trays that is at least 5 times stronger than the Crest Whitestrips.

You can wear these at your convenience, as long as you keep them in for at least 20 minutes.

This blog is brought to you by Michigan Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.