| Show Ways s to Brighten Your Smile r Norma Hendrickson Community Editor Americans pay big bucks to bri brighten their smiles According to the January 2004 Readers' Readers Digest purchases of tooth whitening products products products prod prod- increased over percent in recent years Methods vary in ineffectiveness ineffectiveness ineffectiveness effectiveness and cost At the low end consumers can purchase products at their grocery or drug store Examples include Colgate Simply White Night or Simply White Crest Night Effects Rembrandt Hour 2 White and Crest Prices range from 15 to 19 30 with the being the most sive sive Those willing to pay more can get custom molds and professional strength bleach from their dentist to or have one hour office in-office whitening for to Want something more affordable I yet still effective Neil K Nixon and other dentists offer products such as NOW With this kit you much the make your our own molds way football football mouth guards are shaped Consumers Consumers place the plastic molds in hot water press them tem to tofit tofit tofit fit trim off the excess and use them for teeth whitening Cost ranges from 50 to 75 Care must be taken when making the molds or it becomes an expensive ment r Nixons Nixon's office ottice sellS sens me the kits KUS for lUl 65 to any adult Lab costs are eliminated since the patient makes the molds The kits include bleach syringes for eight treatments Molds can be refilled and reused numerous times Additional bleach is available available available avail avail- able for about 6 per treatment Even with the initial cost of pur- pur see Teeth on page 4 Teeth continued from front page chasing the kit this method is less expensive than the products available over the counter The bleach is identical identical identical iden iden- to that used in the cus cus- tom-made tom molds Nixon finds professional bleaching safe and effective effective effective tive if directions are fol fol- fol- fol lowed Results can be a anice anice anice nice thing for patients if they do not use too strong a bleach or try to do it too fast Custom molds made by your dentist likely fit best and offer the best protection protection protection tion from gum um irritation from the bleach leach The molds are made to bleach all the teeth without leaking leaking leaking leak leak- ing out on gums A reservoir deliver delivery assures even and safe safe bleaching This also allows beaching bleaching of individual individual individual indi indi- vidual teeth that need more attention As with the NOW kits patients can refresh their whitening regime by buying addition addition- f K bleach syringes The Th solution on is is 10 percent to 2 20 percent bleach At least two dentists offer free custom molds and take-home take whitening kits with a dental exam x- x rays and cleaning Their prices were a bit higher than some to but if your insurance covers covers covers cov cov- ers the routine visit you could get worth of tooth whitening at no cost to you Genesis Dental and Benchmark Dental offer this special Check your insurance coverage and make some phone calls to see if you qualify Even Eve if you pay for the services out of pocket its it's a bargain for forthe forthe forthe the bleaching Some office in-office rapid bleaching procedures use concentrates as high as 35 percent These must be monitored carefully to avoid difficulties Heather Nickel assistant office manager at Riverbend Dental described the procedure used for one-hour one whiten whiten- ing The product Zoom Lightening is applied and removed three times at 20 minute intervals A laser light also intensifies intensifies intensifies fies the bleaching effect The gums are protected with a special block out product It is convenient and the price includes custom molds for patients to touch up their smiles at home the Over-the-counter products products products prod prod- generally contain only five five 5 VI feature ad adhesive adhe adhe- he sive s attached ched to the teeth Simply White and Night Effects use a brush on method while products like Simply White and Rembrandt utilize a generic gener gener- ic tray with liquid bleach Many bleach solutions in these products are thin and difficult to direct to the desired area Also most only do the teeth in the very front of the mouth As Consumer Reports pointed out these products can still be effective Dentists agreed that they are most likely to work for younger p patients with wit minImal minimal minimal min min- imal staining or aging of the tooth enamel According to Melanie Thompson a hygienist for Nixon probably work the best of the over- over the-counter the methods but they only work on very straight teeth and they dont don't treat anything except the teeth in the front of the mouth Suzanne Houghton former senior editor at The Globe used with positive results Consumer Reports tested bleaching products in January and rated Colgate Simply White Night high high- high high- est See accompanying chart Excessive bleaching can cause hypersensitivity to cold as well as bleeding and irritated gums sums Nixon notes some with sensitivity problems may not be goo good candidates for any type of ble r ner nr 1 i t i- i I Quinn mb f The Globes Globe's IS ort editor reported severe irritation using a liquid product with witha a plastic tray Char Swallow an assistant assistant assistant assis assis- tant at Nixons Nixon's dental office adds Dont bleach daily We recommend every other day for four treatments Patients should then check and repeat one more time if desire desired The bleach should be kept refrigerated to retain its effectiveness The best outcome of all this bleaching may be more smiles People who invest in bleaching tend to grin and bare it W |
