coming clean.
Drinking wine and coffee, respectively, out of a straw feels silly but these are the lengths I’ll go to for beauty. Especially since, the more I frantically I continue to apply cremes and oils and other potions to magically keep the hands of time frozen in place, the more I’m realizing that the core of classic allure is a bright and sincere smile.
“A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.” – Marilyn Monroe
I keep my teeth looking clean a number of ways, an obsession from when I used to be a full-time pack-a-day smoker, that is still beneficial at battling stains from the coffee addiction I picked up in place of a daily dose of cigarettes. (Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to, am I right?) In addition to general common sense oral care like brushing and flossing, I rinse with peroxide nightly to keep my gum tissue healthy and to maintain my gleaming grin. But diligent as I can be, about every six months my teeth need a tune-up with a routine of Whitestrips. I’m quick to endorse Crest as my go to for the past decade or so, but I’ve also liked Rembrandt and other off-brand varieties from the drug store. A friend was nice enough to share some Crest 3D Whitestrips with me recently, though, and these new and improved sticky little strips will definitely keep me loyal. Here’s why.
Though I’m lucky that my top teeth are the standard set of straight chompers, my bottom suffer from a bit of overlap: the teeth (my lateral incisors, according to this chart) to each of the left and right of my center two front teeth (my central incisors), are out of alignment and nudged behind the front ones a little. My mother and my sister’s bottom front teeth do the same thing. I like to think of it as a charming touch of character, a barely noticeable a trait that only folks who know us well would recognize as a family attribute.
But the two teeth that are pushed behind tend to get discolored, which makes them look weirdly recessed or, worse, decayed. I realize it’s never gotten to the point that probably anyone noticed but me, but there’s been a photo or two where the shadows have been unkind and I cringed at those two poor wayward bottom teeth of mine. Ordinarily, they’re tough to whiten because of how they’re situated. But the 3D Whitestrips are like super glue. I can pin the strip, which is thick and flexible, not flimsy and flaccid anymore like they used to be, to my front teeth and then direct it in to cling to those more crooked ones. With each application, I’m newly surprised again that all of my teeth are the same cleaner shade, instead of grimacing at how my bottom teeth still don’t look quite as nice as the others.
It’s tough to talk about something like teeth whitening without falling into the trappings of trite phrases, but the simple act of boosting my smile really does make me feel more confident and prettier. What lengths do you go to to keep your teeth looking clean and bright? Is there a brand of whitening products that you rely on for a stellar smile? — Casandra Armour
