I’ve never had beautiful teeth, but I recently used Crest White Strips and loved the results- for the first time ever I felt like i had a beautiful smile. But I went back to my old habits (which includes plenty of coffee, tea and red wine) and pretty soon the effect was pretty much gone.
Is there any way I can keep my teeth white without giving up the beverages I love most?
Sensodyne whitening toothpaste was recommended to me when I was drinking coffee. I don’t know how well it’ll work, but it’s worth a shot.
Using whitening toothpaste keeps mine nice for long enough that the rounds of Crest Whitestrips aren’t a nuisance… I do whitestrips every 12-18 months. Whitening toothpaste in between.
I recently had a whitening session at my dentist. They used something called Zoom. In one session my teeth went from a beigeish-yellow (I don’t know what color number it was) to A1 on the Vita shade scale. My teeth are now whiter than they’ve ever been. I was skeptical when they consulted me about it, but it worked.
a friend of mine only drinks through a straw for this reason, even w/ hot drinks. Don’t know if it works, but she’s got pretty nice teeth!
Can I be super nosy and ask how much the Zoom treatment cost?
I suppose one could consider the coffee enema. On the bright side you’re not having to pay extra for some special flavor. Or sweetener. Or cream. Or swizzle sticks.
No problem. I’ll have to look at my bill when I get home, but I think it was around $500. Don’t freak yet. Let me confirm the number.
ETA: Whatever the cost was, it was worth every penny in my opinion as the difference in the color and brightness of my teeth is nothing less than astonishing.
That’s what I do, too…especially with any type of acidic drinks.
The only staining stuff I drink is hot tea, and I’m sure as hell not drinking *that *through a straw!
I drink my coffee through a straw. Not because of the staining - I honestly never thought of that - but just because I like everything better through a straw. Plus the straw actually makes a fairly efficient cooling tower.
Eat limited starches and sugars, and rinse your mouth after you do so. Strengthen your enamel by nutrient-rich real food (seafood, meat, dairy products preferably raw and/or grass-fed, veggies) . In particular you need plenty of vitamins D and K, and magnesium. Most in the US do not get enough of any of the three.
FWIW, my teeth are quite white and I drink nothing but coffee, tea, red wine - and water.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, Snickers. I just checked by dental bill for the Zoom whitening treatment. It was $625, but I applied a $200 discount coupon I’d received previously for having over $2500 in other work done this year, which knocked the final cost down to $425.
Note that they whitened all of my teeth. They gave me the option of skipping my molars, which would have cut the price in half, but I thought it would have looked weird to have the fronts a completely different shade than the backs.