Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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106 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Dentist Reviews This Product, July 21, 2007
I am a dentist who recommends Crest-brand White Strips to my patients becasue they do work to whiten teeth. However, they have to be used correctly and I recommend that you follow the directions exactly as specified inside the box.
1. First brush your teeth with a wet toothbrush to remove the layer of plaque (toothpaste is unnecessary). Rinse your teeth well with water. Tooth enamel has pores, and the pores need to be open for the chemical to penetrate.
2. Use the strips as directed on the box. The instructions will tell you to bleach twice a day for 30-minutes a time. The inner part of the strip has a chemical called hydrogen peroxide; (in-office, or dentist-assisted dental whitening uses a 15-35% version of the same chemical) that causes the stains inside your teeth to be oxidized and turn white. Applying the strips has a small learning curve as you will probably bend or fold a couple of them before you get the technique down.
2. Leave the strips on for the time recommended in the instructions and do not overbleach your teeth, as this leads to sensitivity.
Disadvantages
1. Hydrogen Peroxide can "burn" your gums. If you notice a burning sensation when you use the product, it is the chemical oxidizing (or burning) your gums (it will turn them white with a minor chemical burn). Depending on how severe the burning is, it may cause you to want to stop the treatment. It is OK to stop the treatment for a day or two to let the gums heal. Once they are healed, resume treatment with the White Strips. Try to not get the strip on your gums.
2. Your teeth may become senstiive during the week treatment time. Try to tolerate the sensitivity if it is mild, but if more severe, take a day or two off to let the teeth settle down and then pick up where you left off. You may notice much more sensitivity to cold water, ice cream, etc. The peroxide causes an inflamation of the inner pulp, or nerve center of the tooth and makes the teeth very sensitive to biting or cold drinks or foods. If your teeth become too sensitive, back off on the strips until the sensitivity is gone before resuming bleaching.
3. The strips only cover your front teeth, so only your front teeth will bleach. You may notice the distinct difference between the back (unbleached) teeth and the front (bleached) teeth. Since most people notice the front 6 teeth anyway, this is not a big deal. However, if you have a wide toothy smile, you may want to have a dentist make you a tray that will hold the chemical on the back teeth to whiten them too.
4. The bleaching effect works best on yellow stains. If your stains are due to tetracycline (brownish grey stains in a band on your teeth, your best bet is to have a dentist whiten your teeth as the dentist will use a tray to hold a more concentrated form of the chemical on your teeth for a longer period of time.
Now comes the confusing part: Crest White Strips come in 4 different packages, each a bit different than the others. The main difference is in the strength of the hydrogen peroxide, and the price. The higher the dose of hydrogen peroxide, the most costly the product package. Here are the 4 packages: 1. Crest White Strips Classic (6% hydrogen peroxide, 14-day treatment). 2. Crest White Strips Premium (10% hydrogen peroxide, 7-day treatment). 3. Crest White Strips Premium Plus (10% hydrogen peroxide, and has 12 additional strips). 4. Crest White Strips Renewal (9.5% hydrogen peroxide). The cheapest method (at around 25 dollars, is the Crest Classic Whitestrips, but it takes 2 weeks to complete the treatment). Premium and Premium Pro are both 10% peroxide formulations, work in 7-10 days, and the "Premuim-Plus" gives you 12 additional strips. I am not sure why Crest recently came out with "Renewal", as it is a 9.5% hydrogen peroxide formulation which is not significantly different from the 10% concentration. Leave it to the manufacturer to confuse the consumer!
Crest White Strips work for the vast majority of people. Younger people with yellow stains seem to respond better than older people or those with gray stains. White Strips don't work as fast as a dentist-made custom tray bleaching, (or in-office bleaching) but over time, you will get a result that will be close to that of a dentist, and you will save money too.
I recommend starting with with either the Classic or the Premium-Pro. The Classic works in 2 weeks and is about $1.80 a day. The Premium Pro works in 10 days and is about $2 dollars a day. The Premium and Premium Pro are likely to give you more sensitivity than the Classic. Be sure and check out the price of each kit, as they vary from store to store. Obviously, get the cheapest kit that supplies the same amount of strips.
If you are not satisfied with the results and still want whiter teeth, you can then see your dentist for a more concentrated form of bleaching using a custom-tray system or in-office bleaching. This is much more expensive, but the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is much higher and this works better on stubbornly-stained teeth.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig, DDS
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108 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great product but pointless, July 2, 2005
Crest Whitestrips is an incredible product. It is virtually the same hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution that dentists use. It's amazing how much whiter they make your teeth after only a few days. I've been using them for a couple of years and decided to try the new "Whitestrips Premium PLUS." This product is exactly the same as the regular Crest Whitestrips Premium- 7- Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 28 Strips, except the box it comes in has a window and it comes with 3 extra days of strips. The regular Whitestrips takes 7 days and this takes 10. After 7 days, your teeth are pretty much as white as they're going to get, and I didn't notice much of a difference from the additional 3 days. The "Plus" in the product's name seems to refer more to the much higher cost of this product.
If you're thinking about getting this, just realize that all it is is three more strips, so when you figure out how much you're being charged per strip, you may find you're paying considerably more for these per strip than the regular Crest Whitestrips Premium- 7- Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 28 Strips.
That being said, the strips are a great product and if you get them, make sure you buy some toothpaste for sensitive teeth because this product WILL make your teeth feel like they're on fire. It's definitely worth it though.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
crest white strips - really works!, May 8, 2007
I was really surprised as I entered my neighborhood bar when my buddy called out, "dude, did you whiten your teeth?! they're freaking glowing!" that pretty much sums up how effective the strips are - and I was only on day 3!
To be objective, my teeth hurt a little when I first put them on, the type of slight pain you feel when you have cavities. I guess this is what they mean by your teeth becoming sensitive. But the pain isn't bad, and it went away after a few minutes. And also, I didn't notice a HUGE difference myself, but there definitely was a change for the better. And I guess to an outside observer, the change was noticeable.
In short, I think this stuff is awesome. I'll definitely finish it, and probably do it again at the recommended time.
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