i was addicted to stripping.. whitestripping, that is

Hello, I'm Jill and I used to be a whiteaholic...

A year or two ago I was officially addicted to Crest Whitestrips. I used and abused the things. I'd buy box after box and use them one after the other which you are NOT supposed to do. Not only did I use them every single day for a year, but I'd leave them on for way longer than the suggested time (30 minutes, twice a day). Once, I put them in before bed and fell asleep with them in, only to wake up with a strip stuck to my right cheek and gums so sore that I couldn't eat, drink, or breath through my mouth without severe discomfort. I used to live by the saying "beauty is pain" and just attributed my aching teeth to the whitestrips which were otherwise harmless.

I reached a point where Whitestrips simply weren't enough to fulfill my whitening addiction. I started using those portable whitening pens, those little GoSmile ampoules, whitening toothpaste, and whitening mouthwash. When I went for my yearly dentist visit, the lady complimented me on my "very white teeth" and then proceeded to make some joke about that Friends episode where Ross overbleaches his teeth and then they glow in the dark. I loved that one.

Anyway, a few minutes into my check-up, she asked me if I knew that my gums were wearing away. I didn't know that. Oops. She said that if I continued to whiten and brush my teeth as hard as I do, the roots and nerve endings of my teeth would be exposed...blah blah blah. At that point I think I zoned out.

It wasn't until I interviewed a cosmetic dentist that I found out everyone has their own level of whiteness that can be reached. I had officially reached my whitening plateau. My chompers weren't gettin' any whiter, even if I used Clorox for mouthwash. Oh, and those celebrities you see with blindingly white teeth? Most likely, they're veneers.

And so my search for dental perfection came to an end. Although I still SWEAR by Crest Whitestrips, I use them as indicated, and go through only two boxes per year. My gums are a lot happier now, too.