I run across articles in women’s health, beauty, and fitness magazines now and then that have advice about dentistry and dental care. Most of the time the facts are, for the most part, correct, or at least close.
Recently, I had exhausted all of my reading materials at the pool while on vacation and picked up the June ‘08 issue of Self magazine. Under the “beauty NEED TO KNOW” column was an article entitled “Better teeth, happier you”.
“Better Teeth, Happier You Improve your smile and your life—it’s true!”
Self Magazine June 2008, Pages 62-65
Excerpts from this article.
“Smile Wish WHITER BRIGHTER TEETH
Best Fix In fact the near $800 service is the number one most requested dental service… but believe it or not, you can get equally great results for around $40. When used as recommended, at-home teeth whitening products can offer comparable effects to in office teeth whitening treatments”
6 WAYS TO GLAM UP YOUR GRIN Do-it-yourself fixes that lead to a healthier and brighter bite
“Mouthwashes with alcohol can degrade bonding and veneers. Swish with GoSmile Rinse, $25, instead.”
The article also discusses how to straighten your teeth without braces, lengthen your teeth and close gaps with bonding and veneers, and minimizing the effect of a gummy smile.
In reality, there is no comparison between over-the-counter products and professional whitening. Professional products are of prescription only strengths and are often four times the strength. Most dental professionals offer many different types of whitening treatments and costs can be well under $800. The following link is a video I did on the different types of whitening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XdC1CYvviU
The comment in the article about mouthwashes with alcohol weaking the bond to veneers and bonding is simply NOT TRUE. End of story.
Most of what I read is fairly accurate, but when I see journalism like this, I have to refute it.
(information used under permission of dentalhealthcenter.com )