Want to know something I’ve really been enjoying these past few weeks?
It’s my brighter, whiter teeth!
I recently finished up the two week intensive process of whitening my teeth with KöR Whitening. KöR Whitening is a system that goes deeper and works harder and longer to deliver better results than most teeth whitening systems. And my friends at The Winning Smile dental group (shout out to Dr. Wendy Lewis and my new friend Cherie!) made it a fun process! The vibe in their office is so happy and positive and just bright!
I was delighted when they contacted me, offering me this teeth whitening experience that I had been hearing so much about in exchange for some blog coverage! The timing was so funny to me that I got an email from The Winning Smile about 24 hours after Lily Ryan asked me why some of my teeth were yellow! haha I totally took that as a sign that this was an opportunity I should not let pass!
ABOUT THE PROCESS
So what all is involved in KöR whitening? It’s pretty straight forward—
I went to The Winning Smile’s Flowood office one morning after dropping kids off at school to get some impressions of my teeth made so my custom whitening trays could be produced. It was on that day that we took my “before” photo, which I’ll share at the end!
About 10 or so days later, I got a call saying my trays were in and that I could come in and get the process started! My new friend Cherie walked me through my process the next two weeks on how to achieve maximum results.
In a nutshell, you brush and floss every night, apply desensitizing drops to your teeth, then wait until riiiight before closing your eyes to go to sleep to put your trays with whitening gel in. You don’t want to put them in while you’re still reading or watching tv, because when you’re awake, your mouth is actively producing saliva, and saliva gets in the way of this whitening system working its best. So it’s important to save the gel application to the trays, then the trays to the mouth, for right before lights out.
When you wake up in the morning, you brush your teeth, apply more desensitizing drops, gently rinse out your trays (I used a q-tip to make sure I got all the gel from the night before out) and get on with your day!
After two weeks of trays every night, I went in to The Winning Smile for my hour long intensive whitening treatment. They essentially made a custom “rubber dam” to protect my gums, then painted the whitening agent on my teeth and let it sit for 20 minutes. They repeat this process twice for a total of three 20-minute sessions.
My teeth were white when I went in for this hour long session, but they were super white when I left! It was amazing! This is when we took the “after” photo, which is at the end!
For maintenance, I plan to use my leftover whitening gel (which is still chillin in my fridge with the butter) and my custom trays once every two or so weeks.
There is a video you can watch before you get started that outlines the exact method to follow, step by step, to get the best results. I found this video very helpful and you will too if you choose to do this treatment! If you use the gel sparingly like they recommend in the video, you should end up with enough left to maintain for a few months. And The Winning Smile sells additional gel tubes whenever that runs out!
Some of my challenges during the process—
- I found it a little challenging to wait until right before bed to load my trays up with gel then put them in. I’m typically one to fall asleep while watching tv, so for two weeks, I had to change up that part of my night a bit. It really wasn’t that hard! Haha it was just an adjustment! The whitening gel needs to stay refrigerated, so I would have to walk into the kitchen, put the gel on the trays, then go get back in bed before putting the trays in and turning the lights out.
- There was a little bit of gum sensitivity for me. This may not be the case with everyone, but since my gum lines are slightly receding in a couple of places, I think this is why I experienced this. (Dr. Lewis actually put bonding on the receding places in case you notice a slight difference in tooth shape in my before and afters!) On nights six and seven, it did hurt a bit right when I put the trays in. But once I fell asleep, the pain was gone and I never woke back up until my alarm went off. And from night eight until the end, I didn’t have any pain.
- I had to be careful about drinking or eating anything that would easily stain a white shirt. So that meant coffee and red wine were consumed through straws to avoid those liquids hitting my front teeth. Red spaghetti sauce was kept to a minimum. I tried to be careful about not biting berries with my front teeth. Again, this was not that hard, it was just an adjustment!
- Several people asked me if it made my teeth sensitive. The answer is, yes, but minimally. The KöR desensitizing gel is absolutely wonderful! It does something magical to take away most of the sensitivity. I can recall teeth whitening systems I’ve done in the past that left my teeth so sensitive I could barely drink room temperature water. Really the only sensitivity I experienced was during my two weeks of intense whitening, and maybe a few days after. And it was only with super cold or frozen things. I could easily drink water this time! 😉
The pros far outweigh these little cons because my teeth are no longer yellow (I was amazed at how evenly it whitened. Even the formerly super yellow teeth are just as white as my teeth that were already kinda white), no longer sensitive, and this is something that will last because like I said in the beginning, KöR goes deeper to whiten better for longer.
Cherie and Wendy Lewis are THE SWEETEST! 🙂
If you have any questions about this process, I’m happy to answer what I can! Please keep in mind that I am no dentist, so any deep questions may need to be directed to The Winning Smile. And please direct any questions about pricing or scheduling to The Winning Smile! (601) 202-0043
Thanks so much for stopping in today. It means so much! And HUGE THANK YOU to Dr. Wendy Lewis, Cherie, and the rest of The Winning Smile team for such a great experience and for making this post possible. Y’all are awesome!
