How I Whiten My Teeth (easy and affordable)

For as long as I can remember my teeth have been the one part of my body that I've always been very self-conscious of. You might look at me and think but how is that even possible!

I've recently been asked how do I have such white teeth and my answer is simple, I don't smoke, I drink everything through a straw and I whiten them myself. My teeth have a story all of their own though, so let's start there!

Many many MANY years ago I had teeth pulled because my mouth was too crowded. I had a big mouth (I loveddd to talk) but physically I didn't have room for all those teeth. I remember being about 9 years old and thinking how crazy my adult teeth looked coming in. I know most kids go through that awkward stage but I was a mess.

At one point I had tried dying my hair blonde (with SUN-IN, lord help me and WHY my mother didn't stop me was beyond me), I had an at home perm ON top of the sun in with large circle 90's style rimmed glasses. Then to add the fuel to the ugly fire I was told I needed 4 teeth pulled and I would be getting braces with the possibility of headgear.

HAWT.

If you need a minute to re-read that paragraph and to get a picture in your head by all means I'll give you a minute. I don't even have pictures of myself looking like this because well, DUH!

SO, enter 5th grade. I left school one day with blonde orange frizzy hair and glasses and came back with orange frizzy hair, glasses AND a mouth fulllll of metal. If my mom was trying to get me to stop talking in school it worked. But only for a week or so.

I was told I would have them on for 2 years and needed head gear "at some point." I'm not sure what happen but thankfully I never needed the headgear, I did however have braces till I was in 10th grade. Yes, I had braces from 10 years old till I was almost 16.

Yet somehow I still managed to have a couple "boyfriends" in middle school and high school during these years. I'm convinced it was because I also started my period in 5th grade and grew boobs overnight.

When I tell you Jerek has seen me through it all I mean it. He met me when I was 12, in that full on braceface, orange haired mess and still wanted to be friends with me.

Fast forwarded to 10th grade and ALL I cared about was NOT having my braces on for my driver's license picture. I know, REAL important things here people! The day I got my braces off I was terrified. You would think I would have been excited but I was scared my teeth would be either yellow or have speckles all over it from not being able to brush my teeth well these last 5 years.

From the day I got my braces off I wore my retainers and started whitening my teeth. I STILL wear the same retainers I got back in 10th grade and use the same whitening products that my ortho recommended me to use. I've never had them professionally whitened and I probably won't ever!

I owe everything to Crest and I mean it. Let me preface this by saying this post is NOT sponsored by Crest either, I'm just a die-hard customer that is sharing her secrets to whiter teeth with the world!

So how do I do it you ask, well I use whitening strips about once a year and I usually get the Crest 3D White Luxe Whitestrips Professional Effects (it is the most expensive kind but it has the highest % of whitening products in them that you would get in a professional whitening session at your dentist.) I also either buy them on Amazon or at CVS with coupons and extra bucks making them even more affordable!

You can't just whiten your teeth once a year and think they will stay that way though, that is not how it works. Throughout the year I use whitening tooth paste and mouth wash for daily maintenance, both products also by Crest and extremely affordable! I've also become obsessed with flossing my teeth! I was THE worst flosser and my dentist use to tell me that at every visit until recently that is! The dental hygienist asked if I had a long commute to work and I laughed and said do you follow me on snapchat!? She was confused but she told me that she buys those flosser and does it every day on her way to and from work! I literally went and grabbed a big bag and keep them in my purse with me and if you pull up next to me at a stop light you will probably find me flossing my teeth. To say it's been life changing might be an understatement. Yes I'm talking about how flossing my teeth can be life changing here!

It doesn't stop there though, you have to actually take care of your teeth by brushing and flossing them regularly so build up doesn't occur and dull all your hard work. If you follow me on Instagram (@eastwillowgrove) or watch my vlogs you will ALWAYS see me drinking coffee through a straw, even when it's hot coffee. I am a major diva when it comes to my coffee and even Jer or my girlfriends know to snag me a straw. I have put YEARS of hard work into keeping up with my teeth and my parents put a TON of money into them as well, so I make sure I take care of them!