Beauty Maintenance Day 3: Whiten Teeth

Full disclosure: I have started this days ago.

Tooth enamel wears away as you age. This results in irregular whiteness. Even good hygiene (i.e., brushing one's teeth) doesn't seem to make a difference. I've tried both whitening trays or strips but they don't fit my unevenly spaced teeth well. Besides, they're disruptive. What can you do when you're wearing them (besides clean the house)? I've had my dentist whiten my teeth. It's really the only method that is safe and effective.

Then, I fell for the SmileActives commercial. I ordered it through Amazon (since I didn't want to have to sign up for a monthly delivery) and started using this product for about a week.

It's actually very simple. The instructions say to apply an equal amount of the SmileActives whitener alongside regular toothpaste on the toothbrush. Then, it recommends brushing the front surfaces of the upper and lower teeth.

Brushing the front surfaces first was the most difficult habit to break. Normally, I start brushing off to the side first so all that extra toothpaste falls in my mouth. Also, the SmileActives whitener creates so much foam that I'm all sudsy in the front and it's a little messy.

I have noticed whiter teeth after about four days. At first, some of the teeth were whiter than others. The ones that were crooked didn't appear to get the whitener as well. Also, I could clearly see what teeth were very damaged on the surface. I kept using the product and even those problem teeth started to whiten. It's not perfect but it is an improvement.

One caveat: Before I bought the whitener, I read several reviews that said it will not whiten any crowns. It will remove stains but the crown material is not easily whitened. I don't have crowns in the front so I can't confirm that that's true.

I took some pictures to post but, after enlarging them so you can see only the teeth, I realized that I needed to trim my nose hairs, pluck the hairs around my mouth and scrub my lips! Will this ever end?!