# How white are your teeth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474 "2010-06-25T11:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/21 "2010-06-25T16:52:22Z")
I must be vain - I use a whitening pre-brush rinse with hydrogen peroxide. My teeth are pearly white. They set off the bags under my eyes very nicely. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/22 "2010-06-25T16:55:35Z")
I picked cue-ball, I drink a lot of tea, and I do not really care about the color of my teeth. My dentist, on the other hand, is obsessed (probably because of all the tooth whitening systems she offers). Last time I was there, she brought over another patient to show me how brilliant his teeth looked. I couldn’t actually look directly at him because his teeth were blinding me. I also heard him complaining to the hygienist that there was some kind of limit on how frequently you could do the treatment, I guess because his teeth could not yet be used as the bat-signal. I’m seriously considering moving on from this dentist, because she’s all about hyping products and doesn’t seem to get it when I tell her that _I do not care about the whiteness of my teeth_. The only reason I’ve stayed this long is because she allows you to bring your own DVD to watch while she works on your teeth. I can take any procedure as long as I’m watching Law & Order. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/23 "2010-06-25T17:07:39Z")
My teeth have a bluish tinge to them, thanks to some medication I was on for a few years. I think without that, they’d be more white than yellow - maybe piano key white. I just started using a whitening toothpaste, but I don’t do anything else. I think the bleaching stuff the dentist keeps offering me is a waste of money - it’s a luxury that just isn’t a priority to me. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/24 "2010-06-25T17:26:04Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > What’s the reference? An episode (I think it’s 4.02, “Escaped”) has a subplot where McGee has over-bleached his teeth by falling asleep with the trays in. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/25 "2010-06-25T17:47:37Z")
I don’t care about the whiteness of my teeth, either. I don’t even use whitening toothpastes. I thought i had heard those weren’t good for your teeth. I take care of them, and they are less than off-white, but I am also lucky to naturally have good teeth. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/26 "2010-06-25T18:08:42Z")
I’m not too sure exactly how white all those objects are in real life, so I didn’t vote in the poll. I tried Googling, but different pictures show different things. From the pictures I saw, though, I suppose they are about cue-ball coloured, but my canine teeth are yellower than the rest for some reason. I’m not super preoccupied with the whiteness, but I do use a Whitestrip from time to time. Usually just one every couple of weeks or so, even though the package of Whitestrips I have says to use two a day. I can’t be bothered to use them all the time. Now, what I actually hate about my teeth is how crooked they are! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/27 "2010-06-25T18:39:12Z")
I’ve used Whitestrips and I use a whitening toothpaste. I do drink coffee, though. I was watching a You Tube video the other day (I love make up videos) and there was a girl of about 16 years doing a “favorite products of summer” video and one of her picks was whitening strips. How on earth does a 16 year old get yellow teeth? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/28 "2010-06-25T18:40:10Z")
There’s no option in the poll for “I have ‘normal’ colored teeth.” The commercial I think was the most over the top featured a bride who decided her teeth weren’t white enough - compared to her white wedding dress! Seriously? Even the whitest teeth aren’t the color of white fabric, white paper, white paint. If that was even achievable, it would look really freaky! My teeth are a normal color for someone who flosses, brushes, and drinks coffee, tea, red wine, etc. My dentist has no isssue with the color of my teeth and has never recommended bleaching of any kind. Now if I smoked, and had nicotine-stained teeth, that would be another story. I know someone who actually has a tooth that was grafted from bone when she was little ( I never asked for details on how that works), and she smokes unfiltered cigarettes that have stained the tooth brown. I would find that unacceptable, personally. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/29 "2010-06-25T18:45:03Z")
@Knead to Know - ah, haven’t seen that one. I’ve ended up watching NCIS in a really odd order. > [@Hanna](#): > > I was watching a You Tube video the other day (I love make up videos) and there was a girl of about 16 years doing a “favorite products of summer” video and one of her picks was whitening strips. How on earth does a 16 year old get yellow teeth? Sometimes you’re born with them. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/30 "2010-06-25T18:59:01Z")
I only know two people IRL who have Hollywood white teeth and it looks unnatural. My front teeth are pretty white naturally (I voted 2% milk), how I don’t know as I constantly drink tea and coffee. Got it from my dad I guess. The rest are yellower. I might whiten if they ever bothered me, but my tooth color isn’t something I think about. In other people as long as teeth look healthy I don’t care about color. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/31 "2010-06-25T19:11:56Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > @Knead to Know - ah, haven’t seen that one. I’ve ended up watching NCIS in a really odd order. Ditto. It took me like 6 months of pretty regular viewing to see the episode where Jenny dies and another 3 or 4 to see the one where Kate dies. But that one with the sarin gas on the submarine? Every other week, it seems like. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/32 "2010-06-25T20:05:30Z")
I used to get bleaching gel from the dentist, but I recently discovered [Plus White 5 Minute Whitener](http://www.amazon.com/Plus-White-Teeth-Whitener-Gel/dp/B002CZ6K7S/ref=pd_sim_hpc_2) at the store. $5 and that crap works much better than the dentist bleach. I just throw some on when I hope in the shower, then by the time I’m rinsing the conditioner, I spit it out. Voila! Every so often, I’ll brush my teeth with it too, just in case the little crevices aren’t whitening. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/33 "2010-06-26T02:19:43Z")
Mine are as white as someone who brushes and flosses a normal amount. I drink tea, and sometimes coffee and red wine, but not regularly. I don’t do the whitestrips or whitening toothpaste, because my dentist has never cared, and neither have I. And yeah, that “my teeth weren’t white enough for my wedding!” ad is dumb. No one cares! I promise! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/34 "2010-06-26T02:28:42Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Off white or darker. Thanks mom for taking tetracycline while you were pregnant. In addition I’ve got weak enamel so whitening of any sort is not recommended. > > Curse you whitening industry for leaving me behind! Yeah, me too, but I took the tetracycline as a toddler, just a few years before they stopped giving it to little kids. We’re actually not supposed to use whiteners, apparently. It can cause further discoloration by only changing the color in bands, which would probably be _even worse_ than off-white. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/35 "2010-06-26T21:00:41Z")
Mine are “two shades lighter than typical” per my dentist, whatever the heck that means. Basically, a bit off-white. I use whitening toothpaste but not white strips or whitening rinse as they made my teeth too sensitive. I DO love coffee and red wine. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/36 "2010-06-26T22:01:02Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > I needed a veneer put on a top front tooth to correct some childhood damage. I did a round of home whitening before the veneer because once I got the veneer, that would be the permanent level of whiteness possible for my teeth (you can’t lighten a veneer). They aren’t like Ross in that episodes of Friends, but I like them! My wife did the same. Her dentist said hers (after treatment) were as white as natural teeth get, and those “preternaturally white” teeth have to be veneers. One of her cousins has teeth that look too white, but she had to have veneers for non-cosmetic reasons. Me, mine are like cue balls, even including the blue spots from the chalk (not really, I voted piano keys). ETA: We have a pool table, and the ball is actually surprisingly yellow. I suspect many of the people voting “cue ball” don’t realize how yellow they really are. JMHO. ETA2: Of course, we don’t actually have a piano… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/37 "2010-06-26T22:23:56Z")
Cue ball here. This practice of making teeth abnormally white just seems bizarre to me. I see plenty of advertisements for products to turn them white and none of them have said why one should do so. My skin is the color of typical “white” people but it is obviously very different from true white; is a fad going to appear where people make themselves the color of chalk, too? Or do we want teeth to have uniform squarish shapes like Chiclets? Or will people start painting each tooth a different color? Really, I don’t know how many of us don’t get this, but if you are one of us, the whole thing just seems kind of nutty. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/38 "2010-06-27T03:54:12Z")
I just had deep scaling under sedation two days ago to help resolve some periodontal issues with plaque and bacteria build-up that was beginning to be a problem. I’m really not clear on everything they did as I was mostly out during the 5 hour procedure, and really don’t want to know as I’m pretty squeamish and blood and needles freak me the heck out. I also had three wisdom teeth pulled during the session, so I’m still in a bit of pain and popping penicillin and ibuprofin throughout the day. However, my teeth are noticeably whiter now than before the procedure. I tell ya, dental sedation is the greatest thing ever! I sat in the chair, they placed some medication under my tongue, give me a Valium, and had me breathe in (what I took to be) nitrous. The next thing I knew they’re waking me up saying I was all done. I heard and felt absolutely nothing! They said I was conscious throughout the procedure. I guess they would know, but I don’t remember any of it. I was in the chair for five hours, but to me it was more like five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/39 "2010-06-27T14:49:28Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Ditto. It took me like 6 months of pretty regular viewing to see the episode where Jenny dies and another 3 or 4 to see the one where Kate dies. > > But that one with the sarin gas on the submarine? Every other week, it seems like. Exactly the same here! And we’re not even in the same country. That’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474/40 "2010-06-27T22:04:04Z")
I voted cue-ball white. I used to work in a pool hall so I know what color that is. Most cue balls are retired once they start to get too yellow. I smoked for years, drank lots of sodas and tea. So they used to be pretty yellow. However, about two months ago I switched over to a baking soda/peroxide toothpaste and (I think) I’m seeing an improvement. Not dazzling, but it has only been a few weeks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-white-are-your-teeth/544474.md?page=3)