i don't really think to much about it .. i don't really eat/drink things that would stain my teeth

it's important to have pearly whites, but it's not exactly a priority, either. i would be more concerned about cavities and other dental problems.

it's important to keep your teeth clean, if that means anything similar.

The dentist is not a bad idea to have your teeth cleaned in those impossible to reach places. As far as whitening goes, that might involve more than $20 every couple of months to achieve that maximum whiteness you want from the dentist. Especially if you've exceeded your dental allowance for the year! I know I have went thru that $1500 PPO allowance very easily, everything else after that was out of my pocket. So, buying OTC products would prove to be cheaper than visiting the dentist for those who don't have excellent dental coverage and a plentiful dental allowance to spend.

I also like that the at home kits are to your own convenience. Like with the aquafresh trays, You hardly notice they are on, you can go out and about doin your business and what not.

I say go to the dentist regularly. Its a mere twenty bucks every serveral months. It's so worth it. When your brushing your teeth your not really touching places that the dentist touch and who doesn't want pretty white teeth as well as knowing that your free from all of those mouth diseases.

Yes, to a certain degree. I don't believe that I over did the whitening. I only used the trays 5 days, and I was happy with how white my teeth got. They give you a 7 day supply, which I didn't think I needed. I wasn't trying to a achieve a "fake" white smile. I simply wanted a quick boost in my smile. My teeth weren't horribly discolored tho, maybe for someone who has worse discolorment, they would require the whole 7 days supply.

Based off what I learned off-hand from my dentist; I believe it is important to keep your teeth white to a certain degree. Recently, it has been found that plaque build-up is absobed by the gums and goes directly to your blood. I think that maintaining whiteness of the teeth is a tell-tale sign that you have been preventing the acumulation of plaque on your teeth and more impotantly out of your body and bloodstream.

I think we are actually pretty lucky when it comes to dental care, especially when you look at the amount of problems there are in under developed countries with Cleft Pallets - Operation Smile does a lot of work around this.
http://www.operationsmile.com/

You can get off-white teeth many ways, even though you still try and take care of your teeth. Food, drinks, and smoking can lead to the discolorment of your teeth as well. I try and avoid going to the dentist myself. It is costly. I do use whitening trays from aquafresh, to make my teeth regain its whiteness from a coffe habit that discolored my teeth. I only had to use them for 5 days, even tho they give you a 7 day supply. For some, they work in as little as 3 days! I would assume it depends how badly discolored your teeth are. They cost about $35.

I don't think I have enough respect for going to the dentist. I usually don't go for a year and when I show up they always tell me the number of diseases (mouth infections, plaque build up, cavities, gingavitas, etc.) that I am at risk for.

White teeth mean that you take care of them so I think it is a lot more important than most people give it credit for.