Any recommendations for dull/dingy looking teeth?

[user9430961]

Any recommendations for dull/dingy looking teeth?

All of my life, my teeth have always been off-white. Yet about 10 years ago, I paid $500 to have my teeth professionally whitened, however there was no noticeable difference OTHER than my wallet was much lighter.

A few weeks ago, I spent about $40 for one of those Crest whitening pens, yet after using the pen for 1 week, I did not see any difference. However this was my very first time using any over the counter professional teeth whitening products (other than toothpaste).

All of my adult life, I have brushed my teeth twice a day with toothpaste with hydrogen peroxide and or toothpaste with baking soda, yet it seems now that I’m in my 50's, my teeth overall have become more dull/dingy looking as I have aged.

I was wondering if there are any other aging guys in the same boat as me and if you have found anything to easily and not costly to brighten your teeth a few shades lighter?

 

[rareboy]

Veneers.

 

[Kahaih]

Straight lemon juice.

It won't do fuckall for your teeth, but if you're always puckered up nobody will see them.

 

[Vannie]

I put mine in the dishwasher.

 

[pigface]

Whiter teeth are generally weaker than slightly yellow teeth, so its not something to aspire to.
But aside from the tooth natural colour, food stains are removable with hydrogen- or urea peroxides. But the strength of these required to have an effect is dangerous to gums, so no over-the-counter remedy will work - they are too dilute.
A reputable dentist won't over whiten teeth as it looks odd (except for tv actors where looking odd seems to be considered a virtue).
And bleached teeth will take up food stains again - its not a permanent fix.

 

[rareboy]

I repeat. Veneers and only on the teeth that show when you smile.

 

[Peloso]

Straight lemon juice.

It won't do fuckall for your teeth, but if you're always puckered up nobody will see them.

Citrus dissolves tooth enamel, so in a way that would work.

Bothered by unsightly body hair? A permanent solution would be to just remove your skin.

 

[m1thousand]

what about the blue light thingy

 

[ShadowCat]

Ok I was just at the dentist funny timing try the Equate whitening strips my hygenist says she has a client who swears by them and has the whitest teeth she has ever seen! Some things: 1 Do you drink coffee, tea, red wine, cherry or blueberry juice these stain like mad! 2 Do you eat blueberry, boysenberry, or triple berry pies these also stain like mad! 3 Do you smoke? Tar is just murder to get off of your teeth 4 Do you brush AND floss at least 2x a day? 5 Do you go for regular dental cleanings? 6 Do you use a whitening mouthwash? Crest Glamorous White! 7 Have you ever tried Rembrandt whitening tooth paste? It's supposed to penetrate the teeth and remove stains! 8 Are you using a manual or electric toothbrush? An Electric is better (Phillips Sonicare) or Colgate Total whitening toothbrush! Hope some of this helps!

 

[unloadonme]

To an extent it's genetics. Some people just have whiter teeth than others. I had to have a tooth crowned a few years ago and the dentist had a shade chart which he used to match the crown to my other teeth.

One thing to be careful of is diet. Things like coffee, red wine and smoking all tend to discolour teeth. Teeth will naturally become less white as one ages, but diet can definitely make it worse.

 

[belamyi]

Straight lemon juice.

It won't do fuckall for your teeth

Yes, it will erode and screw them even more.

 

[user9430961]

Thank you, Everyone! I greatly appreciate you all taking the time to read my post and to provide some great ideas, suggestions, and options. I plan to give a few of them a try that might be suitable for me and experiment with a few of these options to see what happens.

Thank you so very much for your help. Please know that I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share you ideas and suggestions. Thanks a million, trillion!

 

[Essex Boy]

I don't know how I missed this thread before. About six years ago I had a large-scale rebuild involving whitening, crowns, an implant, an extraction, a bridge and a veneer. I too experienced an extreme lightening of the wallet. It never occured to me that my teeth could be whitened, I thought that only worked on badly stained teeth, and mine weren't stained. They were a sickly darkish yellow. At school people used to say why do you never brush you teeth? But they were naturally that colour, it wasn't abuse or neglect.

I was given Pola Night and Pola Day (the interesting bit starts from 3:25). I don't know if that's what you had, it might have a different brand name in other countries. The dentist told me that yellow teeth can be treated successfully but not translucent teeth, where you can see sort of blue-grey veins or streaks inside them. There's a limit to the amount of whitening your teeth can undergo because hydrogen peroxide, the magic ingredient, is such powerful stuff. So you can't get what they call toilet bowl teeth.

The dentist told me the treatments used in beauty salons don't give permanent results because they work by dehydrating the teeth, which sounds odd, but that's what makes them look lighter. As they rehydrate they go back to their original shade. The same is probably true of OTC preparations.

 

[user9430961]

I don't know how I missed this thread before. About six years ago I had a large-scale rebuild involving whitening, crowns, an implant, an extraction, a bridge and a veneer. I too experienced an extreme lightening of the wallet. It never occured to me that my teeth could be whitened, I thought that only worked on badly stained teeth, and mine weren't stained. They were a sickly darkish yellow. At school people used to say why do you never brush you teeth? But they were naturally that colour, it wasn't abuse or neglect.

I was given Pola Night and Pola Day (the interesting bit starts from 3:25). I don't know if that's what you had, it might have a different brand name in other countries. The dentist told me that yellow teeth can be treated successfully but not translucent teeth, where you can see sort of blue-grey veins or streaks inside them. There's a limit to the amount of whitening your teeth can undergo because hydrogen peroxide, the magic ingredient, is such powerful stuff. So you can't get what they call toilet bowl teeth.

The dentist told me the treatments used in beauty salons don't give permanent results because they work by dehydrating the teeth, which sounds odd, but that's what makes them look lighter. As they rehydrate they go back to their original shade. The same is probably true of OTC preparations.

Thank you Essex Boy. I live in the states (California). Thank you for sharing your experiences. Based on the YouTube video link you shared, we have that “whitening tray” option here (at least two whiting tray options). There is one option to go to the dentist and have professionally made whitening trays or the option to purchase an over the counter whitening tray kit.

The teeth whitening procedure I had done was at the dentist office, where they put hydrogen peroxide gel on my teeth and use led lights. After that procedure, “in my opinion”, I really did not see any difference in the color of my teeth (as they took a “before” and “after” photo). “To me”, my teeth looked exactly the same shade that I started with, but that procedure made my wallet a lot lighter. Here is a short video of the procedure I had done. However if you look at this video at the 1:28 mark, “to me”, the before and after photos are misleading, because the “after” photo, that entire photo is a little bit lighter than the somewhat “darker” before photo, thus giving the illusion the teeth are lighter after the procedure. I know there are a lot of teeth whiting videos on you tube (with people using professional dentist or manufactured over the counter whiting products), yet “to me”, it would be refreshing to see one of the candidates in those videos that are having their teeth whitened, to truly have dull and dingy teeth to start with. All of the videos I have seen, the candidates already have nice white teeth.

I’m not looking for my teeth to be super white, but it would be nice to “truly” have my teeth at least 5 shades lighter. Yet the truth is, my teeth have pretty much always been the shade they are since I was a little kid. So I feel less hopeful of finding a reasonably price product that works.

Thank you again for sharing your experiences, I appreciate it.

 

[briefs4me]

My teeth have always been a yellowish color. I go to the dentist twice a year for a cleaning and floss and brush twice a day. I do drink coffee but I swish water right after. I had teeth trays done and use a 15% hydrogen peroxide gel. My teeth are certainly brighter but are not white. My dentist said not to worry because my teeth are healthy and strong. Growing up I also had other kids tell me to brush my teeth because they were not white. I've always been self conscious about my smile but my future husband said who cares what other people think! As long as your healthy, have a roof over your head, and food in the pantry!

 

[user9430961]

My teeth have always been a yellowish color. I go to the dentist twice a year for a cleaning and floss and brush twice a day. I do drink coffee but I swish water right after. I had teeth trays done and use a 15% hydrogen peroxide gel. My teeth are certainly brighter but are not white. My dentist said not to worry because my teeth are healthy and strong. Growing up I also had other kids tell me to brush my teeth because they were not white. I've always been self conscious about my smile but my future husband said who cares what other people think! As long as your healthy, have a roof over your head, and food in the pantry!

Thank you, briefs4me. I appreciate your sharing your experiences.