Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Dentist Reviews This Product, August 23, 2005
I am a dentist who recommends Crest White Strips to my patients because 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 to remove the layer of plaque. Your teeth have pores and the pores need to be open for the chemical to penetrate.
2. Use the strips twice per day for maximum efectiveness as stated on the box. The inner part of the strip has a chemical called carbamide peroxide (a 10% form of hydrogen peroxide; in-office dental whitening uses a 15-30% 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 30 minutes at a time. After thirty minutes your saliva has probably diluted the peroxide to the extent that it is no longer effective. You can reapply a new strip immediately if you chose, for the treatment requires one hour of treatment time per day to work. It does not matter if you do this in one continuous 60-minute period or two 30-minute periods. Do this for two weeks and your teeth will get whiter.
Disadvantages
1. The chemical can and probably will "burn" your gums. If you notice a burning sensation when you use the product, it is the chemical oxidizing (or burning) your gums. 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 normal again, resume treatment with the White Strips. Try to not ge the strip on your gums.
2. Your teeth may become senstiive during the two-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.
3. 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. A dentist may also recommend an ultraviolet light bleaching which is costly, but works the best on these stains.
Crest White Strips work for the vast majority of people. They don't work as well or as fast as a dentist-made custom try bleaching, but over time, you will get a result that will be close to that of a dentist, and you will save money too. In any event, it is a good place to start with bleaching, and if you are not satisfied with the results, you can then see your dentist for a more concentrated form of bleaching.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig, DDS
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT WORKS...IT REALLY WORKS!, December 28, 2003
My son first bought these white strips six months ago, as, despite regular cleanings by the dentist, his teeth refused to look anything other than pale yellow. In desperation, he turned to these white strips. I was originally skeptical, but sure enough, after two weeks of usage, he had gleaming, pearly white teeth.
Next my daughter tried them, though I thought her teeth were white enough. Now she, too, has gleaming pearly white, movie star choppers. So, I decided to try it, as my teeth were leaning towards beige. Well, I, too, now sport gleaming white teeth, without having paid a dentist an exorbitant amount for whitening them.
The system is very easy. Twice a day, one applies a small piece of treated film to one's upper and lower teeth for about half an hour. One then removes the film and rinses. It is that simple. Two weeks later, one is left with teeth that practically glow in the dark, as this product really whitens and brightens one's teeth. This product is an excellent value, as it really works.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better whitening systems, March 9, 2004
My review is for the Cres Whitestrips "Premium," which I believe is the newest version of this product. I have not tried the original. The premium whitestrips contain a total of 28 strips (14 for the top and 14 for the botom) that you wear twice a day for 30 minutes each strip. 2 on the top teeth, two on the bottom. The strips are coated with a small layer of hydrogen peroxide, which is the bleaching agent. I found a moderate amount of difficulty wearing two strips at once (one on the top and bottom), so I had to wear these at seperate times, which meant for 2 hours of usage a day. Sometimes the bottom strip can slide around a bit so I decided it was best to wear it by itself. I was skeptical of this product at first, but it really did whiten my teeth by about 4 or 5 shades. My teeth weren't really bad to begin with, but they were a bit yellow from smoking. I imagine this product would be the most effective on really yellow teeth. I have been told that the agent used in the whitestrips is almost identical in strength to what professional dentists use. I can't verify this but if I had spent $300 for this amount of whitening at the dentist, I would still be satisified. These strips are also more effective than the Crest Night Effects. The one problem I had with these strips is they really hurt my teeth the first 2-3 days I used them. The peroxide made my teeth really sensitive and I kep thinking about chewing aluminum foil for a couple days. The pain waasn't extreme, but uncomfortable enough that I considered discontinuing use of the product. The sensitivty mostly went away halfway through the week though, and I would say it was worth it. One thing to note, is that the strips for your bottom teeth are smaller than the top and contain a bit of extra coated strip on the end after you peel it off the backing. You can take a pair of scissors and cut this little square off, and use it as an extra strip. It fits nicely over my top 4 front teeth, so I actually got double whitening for the price on my tops. Overall, I was very satisifed with this product and will purchase it again in 6 months. I don't know if it got rid of "14 years worth of stains" like it advertised, but it definately made a noticeable difference, and was much easier to use than all of the other whitening products that require you to apply a paste to your teeth or where an insert filled with paste. I was able to wear these at work and communicate effectively without anyone even knowing they were in, and if you're dissatisifed, they come with a complete money back guarantee. I'm hesitant to only give it 4 stars, but the pain those first few days causes me to hold back on a perfect rating.
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