I got my braces off a little more than two years ago (wow, doesn't seem that long) and I went to the dentist with my newly straightened pearly whites only to have him mention "Now with a little whitening treatment..." Yeah. His sales pitch almost worked. I mean, no way could I afford his "one hour" treatment that was guaranteed to make my teeth blindingly white. But after that I was no longer satisfied. Who wants to have wonderful straight teeth (after two and a half years of pain getting them) and only have everyone notice that they're not-so-perfectly white? I got whitening toothpaste, I brushed with hydrogen peroxide and used a whitening mouth wash. Then I finally caved and spent $20 on a box of white-strips. And yes, even as I'm typing I'm wearing those little pieces of plastic that are guaranteed to make my teeth blindingly white... for a year. And then you need another box. It wouldn't be so bad they were at least comfortable. But they slide all around, the "gel" (which feels like goo) seems to get everywhere BUT on my teeth, and I have to wear them over and over... for the rest of my life? Yet, after having this conversation with myself again and again, here I am, frozen with my tongue in an awkward position, finally having the strips plastered to my teeth in the proper position, waiting for my 30 minutes to be up so I can go throw the strips out, rinse, and examine my teeth for any signs of hygienic whiteness.
~Lizzie
Timothy's Twelfth Month!
5 years ago
7 random thoughts:
So did they work?
I usually find that brushing peroxide on and standing there "smiling" until it washes off works fairly well for me, but my teeth have always cleaned easily. Which is probably a very good thing because I wasn't as diligent as I should have been about brushing while I had braces. :/
Target makes a "pre-brush whitening rinse" that I think works pretty well (you can be the judge of that). It's a moderately large bottle that costs probably about $5. It probably lasts me about 4 months, but I can't actually say because I have never thought about it. Listerine sells a more expensive version but it's basically the same thing. It's not all natural, but I am not swallowing it either...
Well, they kinda did. I didn't exactly wear them as prescribed. I mostly got annoyed with them and didn't wear them again until I'd forgotten how awful they were. And then I'd remember. :P
Thanks for the suggestion, Jess! Unfortunately, we believe that the tissues in your mouth absorb so quickly that you may as well drink it, so that won't do. :)
I'm hoping that my teeth will eventually recover on their own. They were darkened by the braces (the orthodontist said that "sometimes the teeth react that way to being moved" but I believe it was the fluoride in the glue. I'm not used to fluoride because we've avoided it all my life, so having it plastered to my teeth for 2 and a half years actually caused them to begin decaying.)
You know, I was told the same thing about my teeth. With a bit of whitening "surgery, polish, ect ect" then, you'll have the smile you want... Blah... in the meantime I've just been vigorously brushing each night to try and whiten them up on my own =\
Well Lizzie, during the 4? times we've met, my attention was drawn to how lovely you look when you smile... I didn't even notice your teeth!
Oh, thank you so much, Abigail! You don't know how much that helps. I know it's a silly thing to worry about... Thanks for the encouragement. :)
I would be adding my helpful advice if my braces weren't still on my teeth. BLAST!
Post a Comment