I want to get my teeth whitened, but don’t have a ton of money. I saw an advertisement for Luster Premium Teeth Whitening. It’s at least half of what my dentist charges for teeth whitening. Before I get it I want to know if it is safe or not.
Laura
Dear Laura,
Two Problems with Luster Premium
If what you are asking is if it will harm you, then the answer is it is safe as far as that aspect goes. However, I will say it is a waste of your money. I looked at this and see two big problems. I’ll begin with the light. It isn’t nearly strong enough to have any real effect on the teeth whitening process. The only purpose I see in it is for purely psychological reasons. In that case, they would better serve their patients by not having it there and lowering the cost even further.
A second issue is it doesn’t really whiten your teeth the way professional teeth whitening does. The whitening effect it has is actually a pigment in the ingredients (zinc oxide). This makes your teeth look whiter, but the effect fades. My guess is the positive reviews they received were written before the fading took place.
To keep your teeth the whiter shade it provides, you would have to continue to purchase it every time it wore off. Because of that, you’d actually be spending way more money than you would if you just had the bleaching done through your dentist.
Affording Teeth Whitening
Many dentists are willing to work with their patients on affordability. I’d start by talking to your dentist to see if he or she would let you pay it out. If they absolutely won’t work with you, there are some dentists who offer free teeth whitening to new patients. However, they may require you to have your cleaning and check-ups done with them first. If you decide to go that route, I’d wait until it was time to get your check-up and cleaning done anyway so you don’t pay for that twice.
Fast Teeth Whitening
If cost isn’t the factor and you liked the idea of the light that makes it “work” faster, a method like that which will actually work is Zoom Whitening. You can see if your dentist offers that option. If not, there are many who do.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.