tooth whitening

Well, the corn-toothed brigade isn't going to like this bit of news: Dentists are dissing tooth-whitening services done at salons, and now the Matlocks of the world are stickin' their litigious noses into the issue.

Here's the deal: Many salon owners who already provide spa services (such as brow waxing and spray tanning) have added tooth-whitening to their list. They say it's a cosmetic service, but people like Dr. Leslie Seldin, a spokesperson for the American Dental Association, feel otherwise. And now that lawsuits are beginning to pop up, it may just be a matter of time before regulations declare who can perform tooth-whitening services. Would you get (or have you had) whitening sessions outside of a dentist's office?

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Having sparkling white teeth can give you a confidence boost, and there are so many products on the market claiming to do the trick. That's why it was so enlightening to find out which ones you think are best.

Marcella brings up the point that many whitening products can be tough on sensitive teeth. Because of this, she prefers Denblan toothpaste, saying "I can't use the hard abrasive whiteners, so I love the mellowness of this one."

On the other end of the spectrum is hollylyn, who goes for Aquafresh predosed, disposable trays, saying she prefers them over whitening strips because "they don't slip and slide all over your mouth."

Thank you to everyone who participated. Check out everybody's picks below!

When two dentists in a row recommended Whitestrips over more expensive tooth-whitening products, my inner Scrooge McDuck was giddy. It's always great when experts sing the praises of relatively inexpensive treatments over spendy ones. Alas, the original Whitestrips formula requires users to wear 30 minutes a day, and frankly, that is too much of a commitment for me.

But now I am back on the Whitestrips bandwagon because of a new variety. Crest has released a tartar-control version that promises to whiten teeth and reduce tartar — and the best part is that you have to wear the strips for only five minutes a day. I've been using these for the past two weeks, and I'm already seeing pearlier whites. What's more, I credit them with minimizing a stubborn bit of tartar that always seems to pop up on my incisors. Usually I have to break out the ol' Sonicare to get rid of that buildup, but now my chompers are clean without it.

Since my teeth are brighter and cleaner, the new Whitestrips a big thumbs-up from me. The retail price is $39.99, but you can get a $7 coupon to make the price more palatable.

Lately, I've been thinking of having my teeth whitened at Brite Smile, but the idea of spending a few hundred dollars for gleaming chompers doesn't sit so well with my inner cheapskate. So this morning, I asked my dentist which method he recommended.

"Honestly," he said—and I paraphrase—"I'd just get some Whitestrips." He went on to say that while Brite Smile would give me slightly better results than Whitestrips, he didn't think the difference was worth the significantly larger cost.

He's not the only one. My former dentist once told me the same thing: Whitestrips are effective and relatively inexpensive. Thought you all might like to know that in my completely informal survey, the at-home stuff gets the thumbs-up from dentists. It's been a few years since I've done Whitestrips, so I'm curious: Do you think they work? Or would you rather save up and do something like Brite Smile?

Well, this didn't sound like good news. A recent British report says that some at-home tooth-whitening kits had levels of peroxide so high that in some instances they approached the amount found in hair dye. Yikes, and then this:

In a study conducted by the University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem, doctors found that "all groups exposed to bleach showed an increase in mercury release over time."

None of that sounds good. But just as I was ready to succumb to a life of yellow corn-teeth, I read onward and was relieved. The story quotes multiple dentists who say that whitening your teeth isn't a health hazard. One dentist, Dr. Jeff Golub-Evans, director of the New York Center for Cosmetic Dentistry, says to follow these guidelines:

• Get a product recommendation from your dentist.
• Purchase only well-established brands.
• Don't buy teeth whiteners over the Internet, particularly from another country.