I have very healthy teeth. My biggest problem is that I have had brown spots on my teeth. I’ve been told that this happened because of a fever when I was a child. My dentist, knowing how embarrassed I am by my teeth has worked with me to try every possible over the counter whitening product. None of them made much of a difference. Those that did only made the brown spots more noticeable. Now she’s considering grinding the brown spots away. The thing that worries me is that she cannot tell me how much tooth structure she’ll need to grind down to get past the brown spots. Before I agree to this ..read more

I had six dental crowns placed about a month ago. They were not the white color I wanted, but the dentist assured me they were the whitest color available. With how white teeth are these days, I found that a bit surprising. But, he’d already bonded them in so what could I do. However, I am now finding that they are already picking up stains. I do drink coffee every day, but assumed that as long as I brushed my teeth, I’d be fine. I don’t know if teeth whitening will help this, but I’m pretty distraught about how things have turned out. My smile makeover has turned out to be a disaster. I think ..read more

I am about to get a dental crown for my lateral incisors. However, I would like to touch them up before deciding on the final color for my crown. My dentist couldn’t answer my questions, so I am hoping you can. I want to get this party going. Here are my questions: I used Opalenscence PF at 20% strength using trays. 1. How long should I touch-up (for example, 1 week, 2 weeks)? 2. How many hours each day (1 hr., 2 hours, or 3 hours)? 3. Is it necessary to stop whitening a certain length of time before the appointment (not necessary, 1 week, 2 weeks)? Miranda Dear Miranda, Professional Teeth Wh ..read more

I am very excited about getting porcelain veneers. Because I could only afford four of them for my front four teeth, my dentist suggested I first do teeth whitening. Then, when I’ve completed that plus two weeks we can start on the porcelain veneers. I have been waiting to have a beautiful smile for so long that I don’t really want to wait weeks and weeks to start my porcelain veneers. Is there any way I can do them at the same time and the dentist base them on the color they will be? Sandy Dear Sandy, Professional Teeth Whitening Trays I am so excited for you getting the smile makeover you ..read more

I have been doing teeth whitening for a week and it is making my jaw ache. I read about this Tanda Pearl system that means people can whiten their teeth in just five minutes. I was thinking that would be much easier on my jaw. Do you know if this a safe option? Kallie Dear Kallie, Looking at this, it seems their teeth whitening ingredient is valid. It is similar to other take-home kits. It uses a peroxide gel that sits in a tray in order to penetrate your teeth. There are some disadvantages, though, that you need to be aware of before making a decision. The Tanda Trays First, the tray. The wh ..read more

When my daughter had her braces taken off, there were white spots on her teeth. We were looking for a quick way to fix them. Our dentist suggested teeth whitening and told us that Zoom would be the fastest. She didn’t have a Zoom machine but recommended to us someone she knew who did. We went ahead with it, but the spots didn’t go away. Her teeth are whiter, but still uneven. What went wrong? Gabby L. Dear Gabby, Uneven tooth color, including white spots, are usually made worse by teeth whitening, which includes the fast-acting Zoom Whitening. So why did your dentist recommend it? The only re ..read more

I am curious about the efficacy of these teeth whitening kits you can purchase on places like Amazon. One example is Premium Home Whitening Kits. If these work, is there any real benefit to going to the dentist to have your teeth whitened? If so, what is it? Jerome Dear Jerome, Professional Teeth Whitening Trays   This is a great question. I mean, if you can just order your teeth whitening, why spend the extra time and money dealing with a dentist? We’re all strapped for time and none of us want to use gasoline we don’t have to with these high prices. This seems like it can save us on b ..read more

I had to get my first dental crown ever. My dentist said he gave me the whitest shade, but my teeth are whiter. How can my teeth be whiter than the whitest shade? It looks really weird. Can I use teeth whitening on the crown? Leslie Hi Leslie, I’m glad you wrote and am certain I can help you. I’m having to make some assumptions here because I haven’t actually examined you. If any of these are wrong, feel free to write back and we’ll work the problem a different way. First, I am assuming that you have used teeth whitening in the past. Second, it appears your dentist does not do a lot of cosmeti ..read more

A friend of mine got porcelain veneers and her dentist told her to use Supersmile whitening toothpaste to keep them white. My dentist told me nothing will whiten my dental bonding, but now I’m wondering if the Supersmile will work on bonding too. Carol Dear Carol, Most whitening toothpastes that you get over the counter work by having an abrasive that scrubs off any stains. Unfortunately, this also damages the enamel on your teeth. It is even worse with cosmetic work because the abrasive will scratch the polished or glazed surface and ruin the dental work. Supersmile is different. It enzymati ..read more

I recently came across a Luster Premium Home Whitening kit. Is this effective and safe? Darren Dear Darren, I am very glad you wrote. In most cases, when someone writes us about some type of teeth whitening kit they’ve come across we can usually find something positive about it, even if we feel professional teeth whitening is better. This one, however, is a complete fraud. Let’s start with the light. It is too weak to contribute anything. It is there for purely psychological reasons. As for the whitening ingredient, they use as their “super whitener”, it is nothing more than a pigment from zi ..read more