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389 of 389 people found the following review helpful:
A Dentist Reviews This Product
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...
Published on July 21, 2007 by James Koenig
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131 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
Great product but pointless
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-...
Published on July 2, 2005 by Pen Name
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389 of 389 people found the following review helpful:
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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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
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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131 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
Great product but pointless, July 2, 2005
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
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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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
A far better alternative is available., February 18, 2006
When I used these strips, I found that they were too flimsy, and therefore tended to bend back over themselves, making them difficult to apply. After they were applied to the teeth, they did not always stay in place and tended to slide around. Also, it is inconvenient to have to remove the strips, when they have done their work. For these reasons, I do not consider them to be the best alternative. A much better alternative is the dissolving whitening strips manufactured and distributed by CVS Pharmacy, Inc. These strips are less flimsy/ more firm and therefore don't stick onto themselves, they adhere to your teeth far better; AND they dissolve completely in about 5-7 minutes, leaving no messy residue or plastic film to have to discard. On size strip (larger than Crest's) fits both upper and lower teeth. The active ingredients are the same as Crest, but the cost is about half the cost of Crest. Superior to Crest in every way.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
What the Plus Really Means--18 months vs 12 months, January 4, 2007
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
Several people complained that they thought getting 3 extra strips for the extra $$ was pointless, or led them to give this product fewer stars. In actuality, the PLUS is because this product whitens your teeth up to 18 months, while the standard Premium product is only efective for 12 months. This is also why you use this one for 10 days rather than 7. You actually are getting 50% longer effectiveness for about 20% extra money. To me, that makes a lot of sense!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Did the Job, January 29, 2007
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
I used this product at the suggestion of my dental hygienist prior to having some dental veneers replaced. I read the reviews and I had some misgivings about using an over-the-counter product but it was fine.
The Results: I am pleased with the results. The strips lightened my teeth noticably. I do not have "chiclet" teeth, that blue white luminous shade that, frankly, looks artificial but my teeth are cleaner and whiter than before. I had my new veneers prepped today and the dentist commented that I had lightened my teeth, that they looked very nice and that the product worked well for me.
The Process: I found the product fairly easy to use after a couple of applications. There is a technique but it was easy enough to get the hang of it. The gel adhered well to the surface of the tooth and I always had a lot of gel left on my teeth when I removed the strip. From about day three to six, I found my gums and teeth a bit sensitive but I persisted and the sensation went away by the end of the ten days. I found that my lips dried out while I used the strips and it helped to apply lip balm before and after using the strips.
Some Tips: Wash your hands when you finish applying the strips so that you don't get white patches on your fingers. Rinse your mouth when you finish to reduce gum sensitivity. Find a couple of times during the day when you have enough time to concentrate on how you apply the strips. It's a small thing but I think it makes a difference to apply them well. As I said, you may want to apply something to your lips to keep them from drying out. You can anticipate some sensitivity. It was not a huge issue for me but I can see it might be for some.
The directions say that Crest Strips will not lighten dental work. It actually did lighten my old veneers a bit. However, if you have veneers that you are not planning to replace, you might not like the two-toned effect you get. So if you have cosmetic dental work, I'd suggest you ask your dentist before you try this product.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Decent Whitener, June 25, 2006
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
I have been using these off and on for almost a year. Through perodic use, I have been able to keep my teeth fairly white. The down side is the discomfort after several consecutive uses. My gums have gotten burned by the hydrogen peroxide more than once. I recommend to anyone who wishes to use this whitener to use it every other day. Before I apply the whitening strips, I brush and floss thoroughly. The number one thing to do to maintain white teeth after you have used this product is to brush and floss daily(something everyone should do, but I know the majority of people do not).
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
Highly Recommend These!, August 8, 2006
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
These strips have done wonders for my smile. In only 4 days my teeth were amazingly white, so I quit. I'm saving the rest to touch up in 6 months.
Since I can effectively get 2 full treatments from one box I think these are an amazing value. There is really no need to get trays or Bright Smile unless you want it done faster, and want a freakishly unnatural whiteness about your teeth....almost blue looking. ;-)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Wow.....Powerfull!!!!!, September 15, 2005
I've always had really bad yellow teeth (almost brown) and then I tried the original whitestrips and a bunch of other kinds of things....which didn't work too well (there was only a bit of improvement). But then I tried these....and BAM! 2 days now, and my teeth are almost completely white. If you can handle the side effects these are good. They're hard to keep on your teeth, in some cases it may be exteremly painful (like getting your teeth drilled) but I only had that happen with one tooth and these things make you drool like crazy!!!!! If you can handle that, these things will turn even the most disgusting looking teeth white.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Well, it whitened..., May 9, 2006
This review is from: Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary) (Health and Beauty)
I like a couple of things about this product:
1. It really does whiten.
2. It's very convenient (stick 'em on, go about your business)
3. 1 hour a day is pretty good for how well it whitened
Overall, I am glad I bought the product. It whitened, which is what it advertises, and I hardly felt any sensitivity. My only complaint was that after you took the slips off, there was this very goopy stuff (the gel, I know) on the backs of my teeth and I wasn't sure if I should spit it out, or leave it on. I would've preferred more in-depth instructions, also, but then again I tend to read instruction booklets word for word.
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