Going for a Glamorous Smile?
April 15, 2005 — -- In a society that is crazy about extreme makeovers and cosmetic surgery -- the hard truth is that the great majority of people can't afford it. They also can't afford the more powerful professional teeth whitening either, which costs about $500 but can get teeth up to 10 shades whiter, experts say.
So, corporate America comes up with affordable alternatives. The non-celebrity class can use strips, gels or brush-on teeth whiteners to get a gleaming white smile.
A bright white smile is a great asset, but some people can't seem to get enough.
Twenty-one-year-old Erika Beldau says she's been a teeth-whitening addict for the past three years. "I do abuse it. I do have a problem. I probably whiten them about three times a day," she said.
The way the over-the-counter products work is basically the same. The peroxide bleaches teeth. And while that doesn't eat away at tooth enamel or typically cause any permanent damage, it can penetrate to nerves, and that can cause temporary pain or tooth sensitivity.
But just how effective are these products? "20/20" put some of them to a test.
Under the auspices of the Good Housekeeping Institute, "20/20" tested five popular home teeth-whitening products.
Karen Rauen, a chemist at Good Housekeeping, looked at the newest products in three different product and price categories: brush-ons, trays and strips.
For its largely anecdotal study, Good Housekeeping gathered a group of 18 volunteers to get their tooth shades evaluated by dentist Dr. Louis Siegelman and his staff.
Half were employees at Good Housekeeping, the others responded to a posting on the Internet.
It's hardly surprising logic the darker your teeth are to start, the more change you can expect.
Going into the teeth-whitening test, some of the volunteers, like Sonia Agron, were actually worried that their teeth would become too white.
Volunteers were asked to follow the directions on the labels, applying the whiteners once or twice a day to only their top teeth and do this for up to two weeks, depending on the product.
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