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Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

I was at the dentist recently, who told me my teeth were fairly yellow and a whitening session could make a big difference. It's $500. I'm doing a lot of things to look and feel my best these days, so I might do it. Has anyone else gotten an in-office whitening? It appeals to me more than at home, for a few reasons. I got a whitening kit a long time, like 12 years ago, and quit doing it when I would I occasionally get a SHARP sting of pain in my teeth. So maybe the in office whitening would just get that over with all in one go? How does that compare?

I also wonder about if I'd need to change my habits to make the whitening stick. I swim at the pool (the chlorine of which stains teeth), drink coffee every morning and often have a pint of Guinness at night. If I do all these things, will the yellowing just come right back?

Alternative suggestions welcome. Just curious about others' experiences with whitening.

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Canine Blues Arooo
Jan 7, 2008

when you think about it...i'm the first girl you ever spent the night with

Grimey Drawer
Couple things:

Dentists are almost universally cosmetology shops in the US. If someone is trying to sell you whitening, the operative word there is 'sell'... This is a high margin service and they want people to sign up for it.
Whitening puts stress on the enamel. Googling this will say, 'no, it's fine', but actual studies show that aggressive whitening comes at a cost of actual tooth health.
Whitening is extremely temporary if you are engaging activities that can compromise the white, like drinking coffee or eating anything ever.
I did contract IT work for many dentists. Probably half of them actively track 'up selling' done by their hygienists. This is an enormous red flag and this behavior would be consistent with that.
Offering whitening is effective because it makes people self-conscious. They are preying on an insecurity for money. See also: Hair Stylists trying to sell 'hair recovery' products to balding men.

Most dentists are not going to tell you if they are 'cosmetic dentists' first - this is capitalism after all, but I use things like this as a barometer to determine whether or not I trust this institution with my health as a priority. In your case, if there were other options in town, I'd tell them to pound sand and get a new doctor. How could you trust this crew if/when it comes time to make a big decision about a major surgery? Is the recommendation coming from a genuine place of patient concern, or is this something they can make a buck on?

gently caress that office, and gently caress dentists in general to be honest.

Canine Blues Arooo fucked around with this message at 06:49 on May 29, 2023

Elukka
Feb 18, 2011

For All Mankind
Not being American, a dentist commenting on my teeth being yellow to try to prey on my insecurity to the tune of $500 would be really loving weird. The scheme here is obvious. That offer was not to your benefit.

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

Well, fair enough. It was the hygenist who mentioned this, not the dentist herself. I won't do it, but I've been pleased with their service besides this so I suppose I'll keep going there. It's hard to imagine almost any business in America that doesn't engage in some kind of upselling, at this point.

JamMaster Flash
Dec 3, 2003

I've had it done, definitely got results...just not sure how pronounced they are a few months later. I'd probably do it again though.

cubivore
Nov 30, 2006

fuck you, got mine
Dental whitening uses the same thing as those kits, it's just peroxide. Instead of gunning for the treatments try the strips first and see if you really care.

cat botherer
Jan 6, 2022

I am interested in most phases of data processing.
If you’re patient, try gargling regular drug store 2% hydrogen peroxide (brown bottles next to the rubbing alcohol) a couple times a day. It should make a difference after a month or so. I’ve been doing it for years, and my dentist encourages it as well. It whitens and also works as a general antimicrobial like listeria’s. You may want to dilute it 50/50 at first until your gums are accustomed to it.

cat botherer fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Jul 24, 2023

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


Just don’t swallow it.

mystes
May 31, 2006

why do teeth need to be whitened

let's just invent a new thing for people to be insecure about out of nowhere so we can sell new products

pencilhands
Aug 20, 2022

mystes posted:

why do teeth need to be whitened

let's just invent a new thing for people to be insecure about out of nowhere so we can sell new products

are you british?

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort
I did a procedure where the dentist creates a mold for your teeth and at home you fill the mold with some kind of paste overnight. Wasn't too expensive and produced decent results.

Passive Aggreeable
May 23, 2009

"Either way, it's going to hurt like crazy."
I've whitened my teeth several shades by using carbamide peroxide syringes and boil and bite mouth trays, commonly sold together as a kit on Amazon, often with uv lights (I don't think the lights do anything)

Canine Blues Arooo
Jan 7, 2008

when you think about it...i'm the first girl you ever spent the night with

Grimey Drawer

mystes posted:

why do teeth need to be whitened

let's just invent a new thing for people to be insecure about out of nowhere so we can sell new products

They don't, and people with bleached teeth look like aliens.

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Bilirubin
Feb 16, 2014

The sanctioned action is to CHUG


mystes posted:

why do teeth need to be whitened

let's just invent a new thing for people to be insecure about out of nowhere so we can sell new products

https://www.theonion.com/u-s-dentists-cant-make-nations-teeth-any-drat-whiter-1819566841

my new dentist office does complimentary whitening after a cleaning gratis (meaning I am paying over the schedule from the start), fairly mild but I could see a small difference afterwards. Over time it should accumulate.

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