I have a confession. I don’t like my teeth. They are naturally yellowish in color and stained from years of drinking coffee and smoking. (Just so you know, I don’t smoke anymore and haven’t for years. Yay me!) Anyway, my teeth have always bothered me and I have tried to hide them.
When my eldest was younger he used to ask me why I had brown on my teeth and then he would pray that my teeth would be white. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that God wasn’t going to take away the discoloration on my teeth and secretly hoped for a miracle so that my son wouldn’t turn away from God.
Then a few years later teeth whitening toothpastes and gadgets started becoming available. I had looked at them but was scared of trying them for fear of what they would do to my teeth. What if they ate away at the enamel and in my desperation to look good I actually caused more harm for my teeth. What if I spent all this money on teeth whitening product only for it to not work. Then what? My hopes would be crushed and how would I handle that?
A couple of months ago I bit the bullet and purchased teeth whitening toothpaste. I hadn’t heard anything bad and after talking to my dental staff (not my personal staff but the staff that works at the dental office we go to for our dental care) I found out that the teeth whiteners were safe.
I love it! It really works! After a couple of months I can see a difference in my teeth. The brown stains are almost gone and my teeth are getting whiter. That’s just from using over-the-counter toothpaste. I can’t imagine what will happen once I actually get the white strips or whitening trays. I’m not sure which I will try but will definitely be trying one of them.
For the first time I can remember I don’t mind laughing, smiling, or showing my teeth. For the first time I’m not embarrassed about the way my teeth look. I guess in a round about way you could say that my eldest’s prayer worked.
(By the way, I can’t endorse any one particular toothpaste because I’ve used several. I buy whatever is on sale.)
Photo Credit: hnnhlh14
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I got an email from my Mom about 6 months ago about a teeth whitener that may not taste great, but works just as well as the whitening strips. AND it’s about 1/8 of the cost.
. Ok, not new, but I started rinsing with it for 5 minutes, twice a day and you’d never know I ever smoked or drank coffee.
A fairly new invention called Hydrogen Peroxide
My wife works in a dental clinic and I’ve had my teeth professionally whitened. I can honestly say that peroxide works just as well. Like I said, it’s 10 minutes of NASTY a day, but worth it
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I forgot about that! I remember my grandmother used to tell me that it would whiten my teeth (actually I don’t remember what she said but it had teeth and hydrogen peroxide in the same sentence.)
I might have to start trying that again. Maybe. If I can get over the nasty taste.