I've used them with some improvement in appearance.

I had also hesitated to do the treatment due to the cost. When were in Thailand, we took advantage of the very reasonable dental fees and both hubby and I had a whitening treatment. The dentist also made molds of our teeth and provided us with the supplies to do home treatments once we returned to the US. The dental treatment really made a big difference in how our teeth look.

Hopefully you stopped short of having starkly white teeth. Somewhere in between browned and yellow teeth of those of us with accumulated miles and the white of piano keys should be the goal. The teeth of those who have gone too far look artificial to me.

(PS - I'd never go to a dentist or other health care provider in a third world country. That may just be me. The training and standards of care in such locations are well below a US standard. I'm glad it worked out well for you dawn, and maybe what you had done was vanilla. A happy ending isn't always the case for medical expats).

Elmer, never say never. Sometimes one doesn't have a choice. While we were in Bangkok, my husband lost a filling which left a large gaping hole in his month. Our itinerary called for us to be in Thailand for three months and he could not go that long without having the filling repaired. We chose a local dentist with a very modern, clean office and she did an excellent job. Based on his experience, we opted to return to her for the whitening treatments. When we arrived back home, our dentist inspected her work and deemed it as well done as any US dentist would have performed.

While in Bangkok, my husband also developed a nasty sinus infection and we realized it was not going to clear up on it's own. He received excellent treatment at Bumrungrad International Hospital which is one of the top rated hospitals in the world. We were so very impressed as they were so much more efficient and thorough than what we have often experienced here at home. Total cost for seeing an ENT specialist, x-rays of his sinus cavity, blood work and prescriptions was under $200.

I'm doubt that my anecdotal story will convince you, but there are many medical facilities outside of the country that provide as good or better care than that found in the United States.

rhizo, my apologies for the thread hijack.

"Elmer, never say never."

I can say never. Never. I would have flown home with any dental problem that couldn't wait for the scheduled return. Sometimes a temporary filling can be fitted in the meantime.

A sinus infection may have been different, it could have prevented comfortable air travel. I would maybe have tried antibiotics from a local doc for a week and failing improvement, would have also flown home for treatment.

"one of the top rated hospitals in the world."

I wasn't aware that there were international ratings of hospitals. What's your source for this, besides what they told you there?

"many medical facilities outside of the country that provide as good or better care than that found in the United States."

I don't think this is true, especially not those in third world countries. Doctor training and standards of care are just not comparable. On a par - yes, there are some in developed countries. And very many that aren't, even in industrialized countries.

"Total cost for seeing an ENT specialist, x-rays of his sinus cavity, blood work and prescriptions was under $200."

Did that matter to you? I understand that for people with no health insurance, sometimes the gating factor is affordability. For those with insurance, I think the standard of care is of much greater concern.

Just so you can ease your mind, elmer, if one reads and follows the directions included with the strips, it's not likely that any intelligent person could overdo the treatment.

For those interested, I chose Crest Whitestrips. The box comes with twenty one little packets, each with two strips inside, one each for the top and bottom teeth. They really stick on well for the hour you are directed to wear them.

It took several days before I started to notice a difference, but at the end of the three weeks, I was very pleased with the results.

rhizo: which whitening strips did you use??

I've seen more than a few people with 'translucent' teeth since the invention of these strips. Scary.

Fewer than half of 'my' teeth are entirely 'home grown'. I've provided a good living for many a dentist. I think the strips would not create a uniform look for me. Am I wrong? (I do use one of the whitening toothpastes without seeing a 'checkerboard' effect.)

Always, I tossed the box yesterday and all I can tell you is that it was one of the Crest Whitestrips options.

Its a matter of replacing a tooth filling not open heart surgery.

I went to the JCI site and looked for participating facilities in three countries I think have pretty good standards of medicine (from the middle part of the spectrum up, not necessarily at the lower ends):

France - nada. No places "accredited".

Germany - Two hospitals, both in small towns. None of the hospitals associated with their medical schools were included.

UK - one eye clinic.

But there are a large number of facilities in Third World Countries that are listed. Long lists of members in both India and China, for example. I don't see their affiliation as being a gold standard as they suggest. Maybe more of a marketing association. Consider the source of the information you're relying on.

"You'd fly for 18 hours and spend thousands of dollars on airfare for a broken filling?"

As before, for me, it's the standard of the care that matters. Not the cost. If a temp filling (without doing any further work or drilling) couldn't be placed to buy time until a return, I would have gone home.

Many people buy trip insurance before going off to third world countries. Many credit cards offer that for free when travel is charged using their cards. Often included in trip insurance is reimbursement for the cost of medical evacuation back to the US when it's indicated. Why do you suppose that is?

Back to teeth whitening. I have a mold from my dentist and I buy the whitening gel on Amazon. It is much less expensive to buy it there than in my dentist's office. It's exactly the same thing. The mold was a few hundred dollars, as I recall, but once you have it you have it forever. The White Strips probably just take longer to get the desired effect. My brother whitened his teeth so white they almost looked blue. His dentist told him to cut it out, that no one's natural teeth are that color!

I find myself very aware of yellowed teeth on British newscasters. Of course, they think we are nuts with our very straight brilliant white teeth. Honestly, you would think that Prince Charles could have afforded orthodonture.

Didn't read all the responses, just talking from my experience. Yes, you see a major improvement. However, read the fine print. I used the Colgate strips and you were only allowed to do the procedure twice a year.

I use the Crest Whitestrips 3D, and think they are great. For what little teeth I have left and a gnarly looking front one that has a piece broken off (ugh), they really make my teeth nice and white - not stark white, but just right. I use the ones made for a half hour each day for seven days.

Any answer to how the strips work on the teeth that are crowns, etc.?

What's the whitening agent, bleach? Doesn't that weaken the enamel?

I've stopped using Persil on my dark clothes. The manufacturer SAYS there's *no beach* in Persil...so, why does it fade darks? Same thing in strips?

I tried it once and had horrid sensitivity from it, with barely noticeable results in whiteness. I should have/could have tried using Sensodyne for the sensitivity, but I told myself never again, and threw the rest of the whitening strips away. It hurt like hell.

Rhizo, I've been using Crest strips for ten years. I do a three week touch up every two or three months, mostly three. I love having white teeth.

I'm blessed with unusually white teeth (according to my dentist they lack yellow that most teeth the age of mine evolve to and have more a grey to blue tone, he finds that kind of odd) and I like keeping them that way. I've used the strips in between dental cleanings....not the full course but more like 3 or 4 consecutive mornings to brighten up my smile. With his approval. I buy the Crest, whatever formula of their many that happens to be the best price that month.

Chisue, I don't have a package here right now but I'm sure it says it doesn't whiten fillings, crowns etc. Luckily I don't have any dental work front or near the front, but you might check their website before buying if you were at all considering trying them.

I have used them in the past with good results. It has been a while & I know I need to do it again. I had a coupon and went to buy again the other day. My goodness, when did they start locking them up, and when did they start having so many different types?!? There wasn't anything to read about the different types, so I left without buying. I'll read up on Amazon or somewhere and decide.

I do recall getting a free sample (Crest) about a year ago that you only had to wear one day it for about 30 minutes. It made my teeth a bit sensitive for about a half a day but I really had good results. This one stayed on my teeth better too.

Yes, Elmer, you can't really overdo it if you follow the directions about the frequency of use. And if you have had other dental work done (caps, fillings) it won't change the color of those. The directions state this.

Snidely, give it up, will you? It's a pathology with you.....always needing to be right. Even when you aren't. Just leave it!

To answer questions: the strips do not whiten crowns, fillings, or other dental work.

The bleaching agent is a type of peroxide.

I've heard that some people are very sensitive to these treatments.....I wonder why? My gums became a bit tender, but I swished coconut oil in my mouth before bedtime and never a problem after that.

Yaya, I think that you're doing it too frequently. The treatments keep working even after you're finished....I probably won't do mine again for another year. But, I'll have to see; with my usual dental hygiene routine is pretty thorough.

About why the kits are behind the counter....I asked why when I bought mine. The reason is THEFT! I had a heartbreaking talk with the manager when he brought out all of the options for me to choose from. He said that they cannot keep anything of value out on shelves or it will be stolen rapidly. Items like makeup are so expensive because of theft.

The response to my information was more misinformation and I was trying to focus the comments. It concerns me when misinformation, no matter how solid the intentions when spread (as in this case), can possibly lead to people being misled.

I understand what you're saying. Thanks.

I don't think they would work on my teeth. I had a medication given to me when I was 15 months old that stained and deformed my front teeth from eye tooth to eye tooth. All of my front teeth (upper and lower) are covered in white filling. I've never asked my dentist if I should give it a shot. I'm just glad my teeth don't look like they used to. Can't tell you how many times even dental professionals who should have known what was wrong with my teeth by looking at them asked me one of two questions: why are your teeth so rotten, or: did your braces stain your teeth? Really??

Chisue, as for the Persil there is no chlorine bleach in them or any other detergent. The Pearls do haveSodium percarbonate which is oxygen bleach and will fade colors depending on how colorfast they are could happen sooner than later. The Persil liquid and caps have no type of bleach but are a heavy duty detergent and can fade colors that arnt colorfast.

All this aside darks fade. Most detergents have optical brighteners they will fade darks or give them the appearence of being dusty as if the clothes were used to dust furniture. Theres very few detergents that are optical brightener free (OB's). Cheer powder is OB free and has a chemicial to neutralize chlorine in tap water which is a big cause of fading. Have you tried it?

Elmer do you really think that insurance to fly back to the states is going to be approved for a tooth that lost its filling...highly unlikely.

Debby, I do sympathize with you. My brother was given doses of tetracycline as a child which seriously affected his teeth. He's endured quite a lot of peocedures and eventually had his teeth capped. Shamefully, he smokes and had ruined those. /:-(

From my understanding of these peroxide bleaching systems, whether home kits or expensive office procedures, is that they do not work on teeth discolored from within by medications, illness, etc. They do not whiten stained dentures, caps, fillings, crowns, or any other denture work.

They only bleach superficial stains from smoking, foods, and drink.

To answer the question posed to me, the broad topic was healthcare standards abroad, especially in underdeveloped countries. My comment about evacuation coverage concerned that. I described, twice, what I would do about a tooth.

I've bought it a few times and have spoken to a broker selling it. My credit card provides it for trips charged using it, and I've spoken to the card issuer about it too. What's your experience with evac insurance?

I have thin enamel, so I have never dared try the white strips. I don't smoke or drink coffee, so my teeth aren't noticeably stained, but they are not glistening white either.

As for Mr. Fudd's assessment of non-US dental care, it must be a miracle there are living people in the rest of the world! To fly back to the US for a filling replacement probably falls into phobia territory. A filling replacement isn't anywhere near as serious as needing a root canal, or something like that. In the unlikely event it was cosmetically botched, the filling could be fixed upon returning home for less than a few last minute flights.

ETA: Yeah, I know--money is no object.

There are kits available at most large pharmacy stores as well as Walmart, Target , etc. One is to temporarily cement a lost crown. The other kit is a putty substance that can be put into a spot that has lost a filling or broken. Will fill the hole or cover a sharp edge. The kits have the applicators necessary to do a minimal repair. The instructions are very clear. Not difficult to manage.

I worked in dentistry for 40+ years. We always recomended the patients take the kits if they were traveling for extended periods. They cost about $5 each and have a long expiration date. Most are never needed, but a sharp edge on a broken tooth is annoying .

Darn, I wish I could use white strips, but I have receding gums and I would be afraid of eroding them further.

We've purchased travel insurance several times but I don't remember any dental coverage. Perhaps that has to be added as an extra. Considering how many Expats from Europe and the US live in Thailand, I am sure medical and dental care there is not something to be afraid of and I certainly would not ruin a vacation by flying back to the US to replace a filling.