"Blue LED" Teeth whitening station

[bobdole369]

There was one of these at the mall over the holidays. It was big, like 15 stations. It's obviously a scam. Shine BLUE LED's at your teeth and they get whiter.

Yesterday when I went to get lunch the whole thing was gone. Not a big surprise.

Are there that many gullible people around that its profitable enough to open a retail establishment simply to suck up the sucker money and then move on?

 

[darkxshade]

There's a sucker born every minute

 

[krylon]

Referring to this? Uses similar wavelengths as the ZOOM! procedure, which activates the gels...

http://www.britewhitesystem.com/

 

[GlacierFreeze]

It works. I tried it. I wonder why they left, though?

 

[bobdole369]

They have light activated bleach? I've read tons of stories of it not doing anything. Mayhaps they didn't know what they were doing? Or maybe people realized getting a dental procedure done at the mall was retarded. $100 for this too.

 

[Alienwho]

Were they claiming to whiten the teeth, or just kill germs? I know dentists put their instruments under some kind of LED to sanitize them. I even have an sonic toothbrush that has a special LED case that sanitizes the head.

 

[Rubycon]

Were they claiming to whiten the teeth, or just kill germs? I know dentists put their instruments under some kind of LED to sanitize them. I even have an sonic toothbrush that has a special LED case that sanitizes the head.

There is no such thing as a "sanitizing LED". Ultraviolet LEDs are available however not in the wavelength of germicidal lamps (~254nM).

So called "Dental Blue" LEDs serve a different purpose NOT for sanitization. Autoclaves and high pressure quartz mercury lamps are used for these roles.

 

[Alienwho]

There is no such thing as a "sanitizing LED". Ultraviolet LEDs are available however not in the wavelength of germicidal lamps (~254nM).

So called "Dental Blue" LEDs serve a different purpose NOT for sanitization. Autoclaves and high pressure quartz mercury lamps are used for these roles.

Thanks Mr. Science. The dentists put their instruments under some kind of light, which is the point I was making. Maybe these guys were claiming to use the same tech the dentists use. WTF do I care what kind of light it is.

 

[Rubycon]

Thanks Mr. Science. The dentists put their instruments under some kind of light, which is the point I was making. Maybe these guys were claiming to use the same tech the dentists use. WTF do I care what kind of light it is.

The point is thinking your stuff is clean when it isn't is bad. It's a marketing gimmick. Might as well load some SoftRAM95 instead of upgrading your memory too!

 

[Jeff7]

There was one of these at the mall over the holidays. It was big, like 15 stations. It's obviously a scam. Shine BLUE LED's at your teeth and they get whiter.

Yesterday when I went to get lunch the whole thing was gone. Not a big surprise.

Are there that many gullible people around that its profitable enough to open a retail establishment simply to suck up the sucker money and then move on?

I'm not quite sure what to say to that, so I'll keep it simple: YES.
There's the saying that sufficiently advanced technology may be indistinguishable from magic. I think it's getting to the point (or passed it) where a lot of people are sufficiently uneducated and technology is so complex and capable that it's easy to fool people. Of course, this has been true since the days when snake oil really was a commodity, and not just a metaphor.

There is no such thing as a "sanitizing LED". Ultraviolet LEDs are available however not in the wavelength of germicidal lamps (~254nM).

So called "Dental Blue" LEDs serve a different purpose NOT for sanitization. Autoclaves and high pressure quartz mercury lamps are used for these roles.

Hopefully some day we'll have them.
Gamma ray LEDs - that would be fun.:awe:

 

[bobdole369]

Having read a bit about this tech, I'm loathe to continue calling it a scam, and instead say it is overpriced. There does seem to be some sort of light activated brighteners involved. It seemed really retarded to sit down in the mall and have some high school student have you stick your choppers in this device. They were wearing lab coats too - I'm guessing to appear "medical".

The future is here!

But you gotta pay $99 for it.

 

[ViviTheMage]

There is no such thing as a "sanitizing LED". Ultraviolet LEDs are available however not in the wavelength of germicidal lamps (~254nM).

So called "Dental Blue" LEDs serve a different purpose NOT for sanitization. Autoclaves and high pressure quartz mercury lamps are used for these roles.

So then what is the purpose of those sanitizers they sell with SoniCare toothbrushes?

Like this station :

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Sonica...3922553&sr=8-1

 

[Rubycon]

Hopefully some day we'll have them.
Gamma ray LEDs - that would be fun.:awe:

Perhaps. Solid state x-ray sources do exist. A gamma laser diode of several watts CW would be interesting.

So then what is the purpose of those sanitizers they sell with SoniCare toothbrushes?

Like this station :

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Sonica...3922553&sr=8-1

If it has a proper germicidal UV source it may be worthwhile. If it's just a few blue LEDs than no. Someone needs to buy one and rip it apart to see!

 

[krylon]

So then what is the purpose of those sanitizers they sell with SoniCare toothbrushes?

Like this station :

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Sonica...3922553&sr=8-1

Those UV lamps are legit. Probably the same type used in aquarium filtration.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Those UV lamps are legit. Probably the same type used in aquarium filtration.

I got that thing for 40 bucks, my sisters husbands mom works at a dentist and gets them really cheap.

SonicCare works great, just wanted to make sure it wasn't a gimmick on sanitizer .

 

[Rubycon]

Those UV lamps are legit. Probably the same type used in aquarium filtration.

UV filtering for aquaria is completely different. The principle IS the same, however. Small UV lamps do exist. Again, LED devices do NOT produce the correct wavelength nor the power output to sterilize.

Heck I cannot even erase eproms with them!

 

[zinfamous]

Were they claiming to whiten the teeth, or just kill germs? I know dentists put their instruments under some kind of LED to sanitize them. I even have an sonic toothbrush that has a special LED case that sanitizes the head.

this sounds ridiculous.

I would think the dentists use UV light. If you have something for home use...I'm thinking it doesn't have UV light (too dangerous) and probably is LED--which would indeed be a scam.

This teeth whitening thing isn't a germ-killer, and it does sound legit, ,though.

 

[moshquerade]

Likely it was laser teeth whitening and it's legit. Many dental offices perform this procedure.

They probably packed up and left due to lack of customers. It's probably a hard sell to charge that much in a mall, and tell someone they get results in one sitting.


Read about it:

http://worldental.org/teeth/laser-teeth-whitening-what-you-should-know/

That's some site that showed up on google, but it seems to explain it alright.

"The laser tooth bleaching process begins with getting rid of any plaque rests in your teeth and those from the gum line. Then teeth are covered with hydrogen peroxide gel and the laser light is directed onto the treated areas."

 

[ViviTheMage]

UV filtering for aquaria is completely different. The principle IS the same, however. Small UV lamps do exist. Again, LED devices do NOT produce the correct wavelength nor the power output to sterilize.

Heck I cannot even erase eproms with them!

Do you work with lasers or something? Your knowledge is vast Rubycon.

 

[zinfamous]

Having read a bit about this tech, I'm loathe to continue calling it a scam, and instead say it is overpriced. There does seem to be some sort of light activated brighteners involved. It seemed really retarded to sit down in the mall and have some high school student have you stick your choppers in this device. They were wearing lab coats too - I'm guessing to appear "medical".

The future is here!

But you gotta pay $99 for it.

Oh I'm sure Tom Cruise has his own home device, and his own lab coat that he can wear while administering the device...as you know he is self-certified.

Like he is with his enormous ultrasound machine.

 

[krylon]

UV filtering for aquaria is completely different. The principle IS the same, however. Small UV lamps do exist. Again, LED devices do NOT produce the correct wavelength nor the power output to sterilize.

Heck I cannot even erase eproms with them!

Not sure I follow. Both the toothbrush and aquarium applications emit light at the germicidal wavelength with UV lamps.

 

[Tsavo]

I use this to whiten my teeth:

http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/464610_front200.jpg

 

[Rubycon]

Do you work with lasers or something? Your knowledge is vast Rubycon.

Yes for entertainment purposes.

Not sure I follow. Both the toothbrush and aquarium applications emit light at the germicidal wavelength with UV lamps.

Target and irradiation levels are completely different. Also most home aquarium products do it WRONG (unsleeved double end tube vs. quadpinned sleeved running above water temp). Yes IF the produce uses a germicidal mercury lamp AND dwell time is sufficient for correct levels of irradiation it can be effective.

In marine life support systems an interesting way to make sure irradiation levels are sufficient is by monitoring oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). The probe is placed inline downstream from the uv filter and the reading is compared to column levels. Rises of +50mV or more are not uncommon. Excessive dwell time can be harmful as water supporting marine life should not be sterile. The acceptable ORP range is +350 to +450mV. Levels higher than this are unhealthy as they are uncommon and if an ozone reactor is in use the levels of ozone produced oxidants MUST be monitored and maintained to safe levels on a continuous basis.