H/A, pimp my grill!

Captain Awesomeftw

Out of blind curiosity: What are the best options for teeth whitening and straightening?

I'm 20, in college, and a working professional. Quite frankly, I'll keep my slightly off-kilter teeth before I get braces. I'm already babyfaced as all get out on my own, if I had braces, people would think that I'm 12. What other options are available? Are those invisalign things a gimmick? Are there other things I'm completely ignorant of here?

As for whitening, my teeth are okay right now, but if at all possible, I'd like to be able to blind people with them. Right now all I do is use whitening listerine and brush them twice a day. Although when I have it, I prefer to just brush them with baking soda. Makes my mouth feel cleaner for some reason.

fforde

Arm & Hammer has a toothpaste that not only includes baking soda, but also hydrogen peroxide. Combine it with listerine and you are golden. It's not the same as a whitening kit you would get from your dentist, but as far as tooth paste goes, in my opinion, it is the best of the best. I have been using it about 8 months and my teeth look pretty great.

You might also want to check what your dental insurance (if you have any) covers. Although it can be super expensive, stuff you get from your dentist is going to be better than anything you can get over the counter.

Bob Sapp

Both my parents did the invisiline thing. It worked well for them, but you need to realize that you will need to take them out for meals which seems like it could be a pain and will out you as having them, if that matters.

Basically how it works is they give you a bunch of the invisiline molds with each being somewhat smaller than the last. This moves your teeth slowly into the desired position over time.

AbsoluteZero

Don't bleach your teeth. That's all I can say.

CripTonic

Crest Whitestrips only take a week and give you about the same benefits as 3-4 months with a whitening toothpaste.

The_Indigo_Apocalypse

I heard the only problem with the whitestrips is that they don't really cover all your teeth, so the teeth more to the back could end up a different shade than the ones right infront--and depending on how wide your smile is, that might or might not matter.


And I actually was wondering something of my own (sorry, don't mean to hijack or anything)--what if one of your front teeth is kind of fake? As in, it's about 50% bonding due to a prior accident?

If you want to whiten your teeth, will that whiten as well on it's own, or would it stay the same color (and then you'd have to get the bonding re-done)?

CripTonic

Whitestrips will cover to 1-2 teeth past your eye teeth top and bottom (may very by the width of your teeth). Thats pretty much your maximum smile range.

You can't use them with veneers... well, I assume you can, but the difference in color would be obvious. It's not advisable to use them with any kidn of permanent fake-tooth solution.

Zernhelt

I would suggest waiting on any major whitening treatyments until after you fix your bite, if you go with braces. My teeth are noticeably yellower after braces (which I got off close to 10 years ago) than before.

unilateral

The_Indigo_Apocalypse wrote:

I heard the only problem with the whitestrips is that they don't really cover all your teeth, so the teeth more to the back could end up a different shade than the ones right infront--and depending on how wide your smile is, that might or might not matter.


And I actually was wondering something of my own (sorry, don't mean to hijack or anything)--what if one of your front teeth is kind of fake? As in, it's about 50% bonding due to a prior accident?

If you want to whiten your teeth, will that whiten as well on it's own, or would it stay the same color (and then you'd have to get the bonding re-done)?

Oh my god, thank you. I was planning on starting my white strips when I went back to school, but your post made me realize that I fake tooth. Now I will research and post back if nobody beats me to it.

Fats

Any sort of filling/veneer/fake tooth won't whiten with the rest of the teeth. Your dentist will have to replace it with a new one.

blincoln

The only option I know of other than braces (whether they're metal or plastic) is this weird thing one of my coworkers had done where the doctor basically ground her teeth down considerably (think turning them into needle-like fangs) and then built them back out with synthetic material to appear straight. I wouldn't recommend that, however, as the result looked like dentures IMO.

Braces aren't so bad. I had them twice. I also don't think it's possible to correct an over- or under-bite with the plastic kind.

Fireflash

About Invisalign: If your teeth are really crooked, braces will probably yield better results. Otherwise Invisalign can be a very good option.

I'm using them right now. Every 6 weeks I have a quick visit to the dentist. She checks up on my progress, somtimes file (is that the word?) a few teeth to make some space, then gives me my next 3 sets of invisalign. (you wear each set for 2 weeks)

At first it feels weird, you're constantly aware that you have these pieces of plastic in your mouth but you get used to it. Taking them off might be difficult a first, but now I can take them off instantly.

I don't really have any pain issues. It only hurts a bit during the first 2 days of every new set. Hurts a bit right after I take the Invisalign off on these first 2 days, but I just wait a few minutes before I eat something and everything is fine.

The most important thing is you have to wear them a lot, otherwise it won't work and you'll be wasting your money. Depending on how well your teeth move and adapt, you really don't need to be wearing them 24/7. I like to leave them off for a few hours in the evening just so that I may snack whenever I feel like it without having to take them off and on all the time.

And they really are invisible, most people don't notice them. Even people that know I have them can't easily tell wether I'm currenly wearing them or not.