Painful, but Somewhat Effective - Annandale, VA

Update: 3/4/2011 The pain and sensitivity did go away after the first 24 hrs. The "white food" only restrictions were a little more annoying than I thought they would be, but I don't cook so I had to find acceptable restaurant meals. It you make stuff at home, it's probably a lot easier with a little planning ahead.

After the first day, you're supposed to use their take-home whitening gel (they send you home with a kit with gel and custom-molded trays) for two hours every day for two weeks to maintain the brightness. The trays are custom made so they're not uncmfortable and I had very little trouble talking while wearing them. (they don't make you drool or anything either.) You're not supposed to eat or drink anything while wearing them (obviously). The take home gel was easy to use and didn't cause any pain, but I have to say... having to wear the trays for TWO HOURS EVERY DAY was very annoying. The whole reason I went for the Zoom! treatment in the first place was that I thought I would be done in just a couple hours... instead of the multiple days that you have to use over-the-counter strips or trays. I don't have two hours a day that I'm awake and home most of the time, and I wasn't going to wear the trays at work, etc. So I did skip several days in a row when I simply didn't have time by the time I got home and as a result, my teeth definitely did not maintain the brightness/whiteness I had when I left the office. I'm back to trying to stick to the daily schedule, but it's not easy. However, if I end up with teeth no brighter than when I started all because I skipped a few days, I'm going to be VERY disappointed.

My advice: Ask for a few painkillers to take home with you when you go, plan your white food ahead of time, and make sure that you can stick to the two hrs a day for two weeks requirement, otherwise it will be a total waste.

Purchased coupon online, so it wasn't as expensive. Went to my regular dentist for cleaning, x-rays, & check-up a couple days before Zoom. I've *never* had sensitive teeth or any tooth pain before and I was not uncomfortable during the zoom process - the light felt sort of warm on my teeth but it wasn't uncomfortable and I had no gum irritation or anything. I had 3 15-minute sessions with the UV light and no real pain (just dry mouth from having my mouth held open for an hour). But about an hour later my teeth started to hurt and the pain has increased over the last several hours - I haven't had many of the sharp, shooting pains others have described (though the hygienist warned me about these 'zingers') but I definitely have a constant throbbing pain in my front teeth (top & bottom) from the procedure. They do look whiter and brighter than before, but they weren't *terrible* before so I'm reserving judgment yet on whether or not this was worth it. If the pain goes away by tonight or early tomorrow and my teeth stay this bright, then I will probably consider it worthwhile. But if the pain gets much worse or goes on for more than another few hours, I'd have to say I don't recommend it overall. I'll repost in a week once I'm off the "white food" diet and let you know how it looks and feels.