My baby teeth were white. When my baby teeth gave way to my “adult” teeth, those replacements were also white. My teeth are no longer as white as that anymore.
Why? Maybe it was the years of coffee drinking in college giving way to daily iced-tea drinking in my adult years that brought all this on. I’m not even sure why it has become an issue with me all of a sudden, but lately I’ve been noticing TV personalities’ bright white teeth and wishing I could achieve that level of glimmer.
It’s not that I haven’t taken care of my teeth. After losing two or three molars as a youngster I determined to take better care of what I had left. I’m disappointed to have to say that nothing I’ve tried has actually brought my teeth up from a dull, light brown to the pearly white I’ve been hoping to achieve.
I’ve been through at least seven or eight tubes of Crest 3-D Whitening toothpaste over recent years. I shouldn’t be surprised that nothing has improved, as my dentist told me a while ago that “whitening” toothpastes don’t really work anyway. But recently, deciding that I wanted to get serious about this venture, I bought a store-brand, LED light, teeth-whitening kit. It’s quite simple to use: using a tiny brush, you apply a gel-like substance to your teeth and then find a place to sit for five minutes or so. The LED lights are on a clear plastic “tray” that fits in your mouth, so you bite gently on it to keep it in place. The tray has a USB cord so that you essentially end up with an electrified appliance in your mouth. I try not to think about that too much. It was especially unnerving during the time that my podiatrist told me to soak my foot in Epsom-salt water to promote healing of my ingrown toenail. I reasoned that if the system were designed to work with the tray in my wet mouth, it should be safe to use when I have my foot in a basin of water as well. I’m still here to tell the tale. I’ve been using the system during my devotional time in the morning.
After two weeks I can say with complete confidence that there has been absolutely no change in the color of my teeth. They are maintaining their slightly tan/beige color through every effort I’ve made.
I must conclude that I have white-resistant teeth.
Do I still drink coffee and tea? Yes, but not to an extent that I would think would permanently stain my teeth, and certainly not since I’m faithful about brushing (with that supposedly whitening toothpaste) every morning and night. It’s enough to make me want to buy a can of white glossy enamel paint and slather my teeth with that. I can’t think of anything else that would work after these measures.
Perhaps at my age I should just focus on keeping my teeth from acquiring cavities and not worry about how white they are. Still, I get jealous of those TV personalities whose “Hollywood white” teeth virtually outshine the studio lights.