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American Morning
Teeth Whitening Number One Request From Patients Between 20 and 50
Aired July 15, 2002 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We will talk a little bit more about what Americans are willing to spend to preserve their pearly whites. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, teeth whitening is the number one request from patients between the ages of 20 and 50. And more than a billion dollars a year is spent on the procedure. Gail Gabriel from "Good Housekeeping" and New York dentist Dr. Lou Siegelman paid us a visit to talk about the best way to whiten and brighten your smile, depending on how much you want to spend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Welcome. Good to see the two of you. Glad to have you with us.
So it true the usage of these products is up some 300 percent in the last five years alone?
DR. LOUIS SIEGELMAN, DENTIST: Absolutely. I think the cosmetic consciousness of Americans has increased dramatically, and no one will walk around with a missing tooth or missing filling or dark teeth anymore. People really want to have an aesthetic, pleasing smile.
ZAHN: And you had the option of spending a lot of money on this if you want, but let's explore some of the less expensive options right off the bat. How do these gum products work?
SIEGELMAN: Well, the gums basically will present stain formation and even actually help remove some stain from your teeth, and they will appear lighter, but they don't actually bleach your teeth, so there's a difference between products that say they whiten and products that say they bleach.
ZAHN: And, Gail, you use this yourself stuff as part of experiment you did over at "Good Housekeeping," and it worked for you?
GAIL GABRIEL, "GOOD HOUSEKEEPING": Yes, it lightened my teeth one shade lighter.
ZAHN: That's terrific. And the products range in price from what to what, talking about 12 cents a serving?
SIEGELMAN: I walked into drug store. I think I bought two of the gums and walked out for under $6. ZAHN: So 12 cents a serving, would be 12 cents a little chicklet (ph) here. All right, let's go on to the toothpaste products. Do they work?
SIEGELMAN: The toothpaste basically fall in two camps. They can be very similar to the gums in that they prevent stain formation, and they prevent -- and they help take off stains, or they can be a little bit more in the bleaching camp, in that they can actually contain the peroxide that helps bleach your teach. But it's all a matter of dose and time. You really need the bleach really next to your teeth for a long period of time.
ZAHN: What does that mean, standing in front of the mirror for 15 minutes brushing your teeth? I'm not doing do that.
SIEGELMAN: Right. And who does? You can't really do that with a toothpaste. And then very often, people rinse that away after they brush. So that there's really nothing left against their teeth. So you need something that really keeps the material next to the tooth for a long period of time. That's the key.
There's another product called the white strips, and the white strips are more like little clear band-aids for teeth. And this little sticky adhesive strips holds itself next to the teeth, and you can keep that next to the tooth for a long period of time.
ZAHN: And the range of kits have come out you can use at home that I guess is the low-cost version of what a dentist might offer that would be much more expensive. As we're looking at these products, tell us what your studies showed about the effectiveness of these kits. Now you have used them as well.
GABRIEL: Yes, two years ago I used some of the products that were on the market. And my teeth lightened up to five shades. We tested 22 volunteers, and it ranged from one shade difference to eight shades lighter.
ZAHN: That's sounds pretty convincing to me. But how much work is that?
GABRIEL: Two weeks of putting a tray in your mouth. The Crest white strips were the easiest to use, the most convenient. You don't have a tray in your mouth for two weeks. You don't have hydrogen peroxide dripping down your throat.
ZAHN: Which makes your throat sore.
How long each treatment? You have this thing in your mouth for how long?
GABRIEL: Generally two weeks.
ZAHN: But not the whole time.
GABRIEL: Half hour per day.
ZAHN: Half her per day.
GABRIEL: Because it used to be that you'd sleep with these trays in your mouth.
SIEGELMAN: Years ago, we'd slept with them. Most of the bleaching effect was taking place in the first two hours anyway, and nobody, including myself, is comfortable sleeping with them. Now they developed more effective bleaching products that cause less sensitivity as well, and so those are used for half hour to an hour a day.
ZAHN: How much do these kits cost?
GABRIEL: Roughly 40-$50. Some go up to $90.
ZAHN: And if you really want to spend some money, you can get the trays that are custom fitted to mouth, similar products, but much more expensive.
SIEGELMAN: The big difference between the over-the-counter products. This is an over-the-counter kit, and this is a professionally-offered kit. And really the big difference between the two is all in the tray. The custom-fitting tray keeps the bleach right next to tooth for a long period of time.
ZAHN: And also, you don't have the stuff running down your throat like you would be tray that doesn't fit.
SIEGELMAN: Absolutely, which is a big difference in comfort.
ZAHN: And the most expensive option of all, as people decide to go the laminate route, how much will that set you back?
SIEGELMAN: That could be depending on the dentist and the laboratory that the dentist uses, that could be anywhere from $500, $600, all the way up to $1,500, $1,800 per tooth.
ZAHN: Very quickly, any side effects to any of these products?
SIEGELMAN: There's very few side effects other than short-term sensitivity, soreness of gums.
ZAHN: That would drive me nuts.
SIEGELMAN: Yes, soreness of your throat. But very, very little. It's really minimal. And it goes right away. If you discontinue using it for a day or two, it will go right away.
ZAHN: And then you start back up.
SIEGELMAN: And then you start back up.
ZAHN: Thanks for helping us try to make our teeth whiter here today. Gale, we look forward to seeing your survey down the road in November for "Good Housekeeping."
Dr. Siegelman, thank you for your insights.
SIEGELMAN: Thank you.
ZAHN: Nice to meet both of you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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