Question:
I'm considering getting my teeth whitened. After looking online, I noticed
alot of sites that offer teeth whitenin kits - at a substatialy lower cost
than what my dentist will charge. They even offer custom plates - you make
an impression in some putty, send it back to them and they make them for
you. Is anyone familiar with these kits? Is it the same technology?
Basically, will it work?
Answer:
Funny, I put in an inquiry to one site about this type of product (available
through the net) 2 days ago and have yet to receive a response! I was
curious to see how such consumer inquiries would be handled. I haven't
gotten a response yet.
Last night I put in an inquiry to an auto clearinghouse about a new car.
Filled in an online form and gave all stats of car I'm interested in. Got
up this morning had received an email response from a dealership. VERY
professionally written with a VERY good quote. I was impressed. Guess one
has to buy a LOT of whitener to get that kind of quick response. ;-)
A few years ago I bought a very slick package from a company that did a lot
of TV advertising ... infomercials. I'd had whitening done through my
dentist and I wanted to see how this commercial package stacked up. My poor
husband became the guinea pig on this one. Poor soul. You should have seen
what the trays looked like! I really can't attest to the quality of the
whitener cause he hated how the trays felt and couldn't stand to use them.
(Rack that up to the "technician", me, who made the trays by the method
provided ... melting product in boiling water and then biting into the
softened resin.)
I've seen the online ads for the type product you mention below. Because it
goes to some type of lab, I'm sure the tray quality is much better (unless
they hire people like me and they use boiling water). But what recourse do
you have if the trays don't fit properly or if you have questions on the
process? Dunno.
The chemistry from this type of kit may work, (I have no idea what they are
providing).
Like S... says, the problem comes in if satisfaction is not 100%. At a
dental office, if the tray does not fit, the dental offices knows they did
something less than perfect, take the blame and re-make a tray to no charge.
If you take your own impression in a different state, and ship the
impression out for someone else to take care of, your possibility of a
problem occurring increase. The company (in another state) will already
have your money, they don't have to worry about quality control, because
they can blame any poor fit on your impression. They can offer re-made
trays for an additional fee and get more of your money. They might just
tell you to pay the whole fee again and start from scratch. They will tend
to get most referrals from internet search engines, so will not really care
what your opining of them will be. Six months later, they might be selling
a kit to change your own oil in your car.
OTH, they might be extremely conscientious, try really hard, and promise you
satisfaction by re-making the tray as many times as needed to get it right.
I would be surprised, but it is possible.
BTW, my dental assistant is, at this minute, taking a new impression for
someone who just walked in complaining that the upper bleaching tray we made
is getting loose. We delivered it 3 wks ago, and she is commenting that it
is loose now. I don't know if she did something improper with the tray, or
if our adaptation of the tray could have been better. It does not matter.
She is getting a new tray for free.
I guess my point must be that it is not necessarily the product you are
paying for as much as it is the service you get with it. I buy my vehicles
based on the level of service I can expect to get 2-6 years down the line.
I would think people would buy treatment for their body the same way.
I have been using a kit from the dentist's office.
I'm really impressed with how easy it is and in 3 nights my upper teeth looked
really great. I'm all for saving money but sometimes we have to pick and choose
Frankly, I think this is very wise. Working through a dental office means
that you're not "alone" in managing the process. AND, an important element
in this entire equation is that your oral health care and the chemical
response to your gums and teeth will be monitored by professionals.
