Dentists will usually argue that you are better off getting teeth whitened under their care for numerous reasons. Financially, they benefit from undertaking the job for their clients and the procedure is certainly expensive. Trays and other tools are custom-made to fit over a person’s teeth and not his gums.

Light treatments, also available from some dentists, are expensive too but effective and bleach-free. Dentists will say their professional touch acts more quickly, lasts longer, and is safer. Isn’t there some way to whiten teeth that is not so costly but still works?

Caveat

There are lots of methods, all available for application at home, but they aren’t usually approved. Also, you won’t see results as quickly and their efficacy depends on how closely customers follow instructions. In some cases, it’s not a good idea to use a product because of the condition of your teeth or because of sensitivity to certain ingredients. Exercise caution before spending a fortune.

Teeth Whitening at Home

Products for use at home receive mixed ratings from consumers. The simplest items are toothpastes and rinses since these fit naturally into your regular dental routine.

If you do no usually rinse, adding mouthwash to your oral hygiene sequence isn’t time consuming. Teeth whitening gels and strips offer other options. Let’s consider the relative values of each method.

Toothpaste, the Natural Choice

Scan the toothpaste section at your grocery or drug store and there will be so many choices it makes your teeth hurt. There are pastes for sensitive teeth, cavity prevention, and teeth whitening.

Ultimately, every toothpaste should protect you from getting cavities if you avoid eating sweets regularly and brush as directed by your dentist. Also, brushing with any form of toothpaste cleans teeth of some stains just as washing hands gets rid of some dirt, but coffee, dark juices and sodas, and red wine will almost certainly leave residue that won’t come off with simple brushing.

Certain brands advertise pastes which tackle every angle all at once: whitening and cleaning for sensitive teeth. Whitening can make teeth more sensitive to hot and cold foods or drinks, but special pastes mitigate that problem.

Some toothpastes are better for whitening than others. They contain either baking soda or a form of peroxide bleach, the latter of which is stronger, but baking soda is natural and offers the added bonus of cleansing your mouth.

Legally, toothpaste companies can’t add as much peroxide to their products as dentists can use because their toothpaste is being used without supervision. Bleach can cause a lot of damage in high enough concentrations. Baking soda will work to a point.

Deeply stained teeth respond better to peroxide. Be sensible: allow some days to see the results and don’t expect them to last without going for a routine checkup and cleaning at your dentist. Also, effects only endure as long as you use the toothpaste and are more noticeable when you reduce the amount of coffee or red wine you drink.

Maybe Mouthwash

This is probably the easiest whitening tool but the least effective. Although mouthwash with peroxide might do some good, it is sloshing back and forth, up and down, a few teeth at a time very briefly before being ejected from your mouth. There is also concern that mouthwash kills good bacteria which eat the bad germs around teeth and gums. You will notice some improvement, but it will be slight and subtle.

Gentle Gels

This is a more time consuming procedure done from home but has more lasting effects than toothpaste. Choose a gel infused with peroxide and you will have to brush this on, perhaps twice daily, leaving it in place for half an hour or more each time.

If you can’t last that long, the product will not be as effective, but do not leave it on too long as this could cause damage to your enamel. Still, over-the-counter examples are gentler than what a dentist offers.

At-home gels will start working in a few days but keep at it for a couple of weeks. Results are better than those you find with toothpaste and last for months if you are a candidate and the staining is not, in fact, darkening caused by disease or a dead tooth.

Significant Whitening with Strips and Trays

A similar sort of solution to the gel mentioned above is placed directly on your teeth using a strip, but this could touch your gums and you do not really want that. Bleach is not good for gum tissue. Trays can cause the same problems and they are highly inconvenient, needing to stay in place for hours, maybe overnight.

These methods plus gels, however, are solutions for a consumer with serious staining; far better than toothpaste or mouthwash, but they cost more and add many hours to the weekly oral hygiene routine. Still, if you want to see results quickly without going to the dentist, trays, gels, and strips will reduce stains significantly and quickly.

In the scientific world, the one reviewed and overseen by established academics, biohacking is not a real study. It is a pseudoscience related to biology, one that professional biologists regard in the same way they regard ghost hunting and palm reading.

There are no accredited, recognized universities dedicated to the study of paranormal forces, although lots of extra-scientific organizations exist. Biohackers are no more than quacks or, at best, curious individuals with too much time on their hands as far as “real” scientists are concerned.

Where Do You Find a Biohacker?

They love to hang out in small groups and perform experiments in the dark, and when these individuals bring their results into the light the reaction is usually divisive. Many people regard them as unethical and dangerous.

Only fellow biohackers and individuals outside the mainstream appreciate what they are doing. At best, participants just want to know more about their world. At worst, there could be serious ethical ramifications to what they are capable of. Maybe only funding affects the outcome.

Mostly Confusion

For the most part, biohacking is greeted with plain old confusion. What are these people doing; splicing genes or trying to change genetic coding? Sometimes they get into that, often with little projects that won’t rock the world or hurt anyone outside of their lab. They play with organic and non-organic articles in an effort to learn more about the biology of plants, animals, and how these interact with their man-made environs.

Numerous biohackers hope to develop products and eBooks so as to make a living from their interest in esoteric studies like these. Ideally, they would create items to improve life and which consumers would wish to purchase.

The average person, however, has no idea what these people are doing and can become frightened as a result. They hear “bio” and “hacking” and they imagine men in white lab coats creating the real life equivalent of the Terminator or a home-based gene-mutating device anyone can bring home to their peril. Their closest reference in the technological world is computer hacking; its malicious intent and destructive, costly results.

What is Biohacking?

Realistically, biohacking is about improving one’s environment or one’s own body. An example that captures the idea in a user-friendly format is nootropics. These are regulated and non-regulated supplements and drugs which change neurological activity.

When used correctly, advocates say they promote crisp thinking and focus; better energy; reduced fatigue; and even reduced symptoms from chronic conditions of the mind and body. Individuals who develop and market these products seek to perfect the human brain and body one pill at a time.

Their pills and powders can be swallowed or turned into a smoothie. Allegedly, the best-known nootropics are followed by thousands of clients who claim that these supplements have improved their productivity at work, enhanced athletic performance, or helped a child overcome the worst symptoms of autism.

What Biohacking Can Be

In the instance above, biohacking is potentially harmless, maybe helpful, perhaps no more than an unwise and frustrating encounter with the 21st Century equivalent of a high-street huckster. Maybe you will waste your money on an idea, but it won’t be long before you know if anything good came of your investment. At worst, you might suffer an allergic reaction to the ingredients. Perhaps real improvement is the result of taking this risk, and data from legitimate research will prove as much very soon.

All biohackers sell an idea, one which is supported by science according to the background information you read. Some of that science is conducted by biohacking amateurs as it happens or real scientists working outside of mainstream directions and without funding. Occasionally, someone with better credentials says something nice which is quoted on a website in relation to a product or is taken out of context to the same purpose.

What Biohacking Could Become

There is always the potential, however, for unethical individuals, corporations, or extra-curricular groups to gather with a malicious aim; to make money out of products which hurt people. “Hacking” does not have to be a back word, but it always is when associated with research that would harm people or society.

Is there a chance that weapons could be developed which affect human beings in detrimental ways at the cellular level? Biological warfare has already proven this to be the case. Technological advancements raise the stakes.

What if all you had to do in order to lose weight was to swallow a pill? Can a supplement ever be designed to produce this result, and if it exists, should regulators make it available on health food store shelves?

The pharmaceutical industry has known for a long time that if they could produce and sell such a thing, they could make lots of money or save the healthcare system in their country billions of dollars associated with illness related to obesity and laziness. Something that powerful would surely require a subscription. Do scientists believe the pill we have been waiting for, the answer to obesity, is finally here?

The Australian Cure

This miracle product comes from Australia, but soon the whole world will know about and covet it. The drug is said to affect metabolism in such a way as to burn fat without burning muscle. While excited consumers around the world frustrated in their efforts to fight flab might be ecstatic, the report clarifies that this pill activates some beneficial properties of exercise, without actually exercising.

More Than a Pill

Besides, as experts remind us, there is more benefit in exercise than mere weight loss. Consumers who are active enjoy better health than sedentary counterparts. They are less at risk of developing heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, suffering a stroke, and can more easily overcome depression and anxiety. Exercise and eating sensibly are crucial to good health, so what’s stopping people from moving more and putting down those donuts?

Who Is This for?

Doctors will have particular patients in mind when they consider this new drug: those with pre-existing conditions for whom too much exercise is as dangerous as not getting enough. These patients have a hard time climbing stairs or getting out of a chair.

Encouraging them to walk two kilometers daily will be a feat and a potentially dangerous one. They need a solution and they need it quickly. Discouraged patients who don’t see results will lapse back into old eating habits, give up their exercise, or might not see benefits in time to go in for surgery which would have prevented a life-threatening event and a stay in hospital.

Is This Something New?

Scientists have spent many years trying to understand the mechanics of weight loss and obesity. They have discovered a component in the body which inhibits weight loss and aim to control that with their new drug. But again, it only works when you activate cells by exercising. They don’t expect this pill to be available to the general public any time soon.

A Downside of Exercise

The big problem with exercise and weight loss is that when you increase your output, energy requirements and hunger increase too. That’s why so many people actually gain weight which they cannot attribute to increased muscle mass. Experts claim, however, that eating a different sort of diet can affect this outcome; that is, reducing simple carbs and increasing protein will yield far better results.

Food, Supplements, and Weight Loss

So what can ordinary people hope for in the meantime? Is there a miracle pill? No, there are no miracles where weight loss is concerned. Yes, some people are gifted with a speedy metabolism even when they don’t work out and they eat whatever they want, but they will still be susceptible to Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease.

Set Goals

What is your starting point and what are your goals? Establish those first. If your goals are unrealistic and unhealthy, you are destined to fail or to hurt yourself in the process. Diets do not work; neither does Green Tea Extract, Raspberry Keytones, or Garcinia Cambogia.

Building muscle will definitely help in the long run, so any exercise routine should include weight bearing along with stretching and cardio. Consumers need to think about what they eat and why they eat it; consider their age and activity level to decide how many calories they need; and people who are unfit should start moving.

The season is upon us: back to school shopping has started already, even though there are a few weeks left to soak up the sun and relax on a beach. This can be a really stressful time for parents and kids because of peer pressure, money worries, or just not knowing what they need. There are a few ways to reduce concerns about all of these considerations and beat the rush simultaneously.

Get the List

Start out by knowing what you need, not guessing. Schools usually post a list somewhere which indicates the full extent of necessary supplies; probably online if a list didn’t come home with a student’s report card.

Even if you only access last year’s list online, it will not have changed much. Assemble what your children already have. Dig around and see what you can find in the house. There is a good chance erasers and pencils, maybe pencil crayons and other items, have not been used up or perhaps not even used at all.

Check specifications carefully so as to purchase the right type of art pencils and the right size of backpack so you only go through this once. Maybe a neighbor’s older children don’t use their protractor and other tools anymore and their parents will gladly pass them along.

Lower the Cost of Back to School Shopping

If you have to pay shipping costs or travel an hour to reach a sale, it had better be worth your while. There is a good chance that reasonable prices can be located within your local area, saving you time and possibly money. Maybe the sale price is great, but not when you add up the full cost of getting to the city and staying for three or four hours.

Perhaps families won’t save at the checkout by shopping locally, but think of what it would cost in gasoline to travel to a bigger mall with larger savings; other spending you might do if you traveled such as buying lunch or impulse shopping; and the price of shipping on certain online items, if they are available online.

Very low-cost items such as $0.10 packs of paper or notebooks are often sold at that rate until you reach the maximum number. If you need more than the maximum, send someone else in to buy the rest of what you want at the lowest price.

Don’t be lured by a sticker that says “50% off” just because this is a big sale. First, find out how much the item cost to start with. You might still do really well with a full-priced item that was already economical, but in some instances it’s not economical to be cheap. Really inexpensive backpacks last less than a year without ripping on the inside. Even packs twice the price, however, are likely to give you only a year before zippers break.

Check the Dress Code

Part of back-to-school shopping is ensuring kids who do not wear uniforms are appropriately dressed. Be prepared for the weather, for field trips, and for the school dress code. You will feel like a fool with your bags of new sale-priced shirts and pants if, when you read the school website, it turns out these are not permitted for some reason. As a simple rule, tweens and teens are not allowed to wear crop tops and spaghetti straps or very low-cut shirts. Skirts probably have to reach mid-thigh and boys have to be careful about the graphics on their t-shirts.

The Lunch Kit

Kids love receiving a new kit for school lunches. Think ahead to lunches for the autumn, winter, and spring. Will the kit be able to tidily store all types of foods without leaking and an adequate amount of food as well? Maybe current equipment is adequate. If lunch kits are ripped or zippers don’t work, though, start again. You don’t want food falling out and becoming dirty or squished.