How do I get whiter teeth?

Do those whitening toothpastes actually work?
If I went to the dentist and said ‘I’d like whiter teeth’ what would he do? What would it cost?
What would it cost in the UK (because that’s where I am)??

No.

For me, the whitening toothpastes merely hold the color I have against assaults by coffee, wine, etc.

Crest Whitestrips work marginally better. If you’re looking for a slight touchup, these can help.

For anything more extensive, you have to go to the dentist.

The dentist can offer you a more powerful version of the Crest Whitestrips, if your color isn’t too bad. I would speculate that these strips cost about $100USD for a two-week treatment or so.

If you need more bleaching than the Whitestrips can provide, your dentist will fit you with mouthguards and provide you with a gel. You smear the gel into your mouthguards and wear them against your teeth for an hour or so a day for two weeks. This costs about $400USD. Considering the amount of effort and time expended, I was disappointed with the results I got with this system.

Finally, for fast and dramatic results, your dentist will smear a gel onto your teeth and shine a bright light onto the gel for 20 minutes. Your dentist will give you three or four sessions like this in one sitting. The total cost is about $550USD, and works like a charm.

Sheez, thats pricey. Are the things the dentist gives you prescription-based? (Actually, come to think of it, are there such things as dental prescriptions?)

Are the various whitening treatments just simple bleaching chemicals? If so, why so high a cost? If its for the dentist’s services, thats understandable, but if its just something you apply yourself, are you just paying for R&D/patent costs?

There are such things as dental presciptions, but none are required for whitening.

Whitening is considered “cosmetic” by most insurance carriers, so you’re probably going to have to foot the whole bill. Except that most dentists wouldn’t dream of trying to whiten you up without first giving you a cleaning, so the office visit may be covered by your insurance.

AFAIK, all of the whitening treatments rely on peroxide. Problems can arise if the peroxide is too strong, or if it gets on your gums. That’s probably part of the cost. For the $400 system, you have to get custom mouthguards made for your upper and lower teeth, which is probably part of the cost. For the really expensive system, you’re tying up a dentist’s chair and an assistant for an hour and a half or so, which probably accounts for some of the cost. In addition, there is specialized equipment your dentist must have to offer this procedure, and he has to make that investment back somehow.

I can buy the Crest White strips in our local Walmart for $23.00. I don’t know where the OP got the price quoted.

They are also paying for the franchise/licensing rights of whichever system for which they have signed up. It’s like McBurgerChicken: some of the profits go straight to the people with the trademark.

Bolding mine.