"Crest whitening strips" Do they work? (1 Viewer)

[ShaneH]

Has anyone tried these strips? Do they actually work?

 

[Patrick_S]

I have not used them personally but a good friend did and her teeth certainly did whiten significantly.

 

[Jefferson]

As I was not about to give up my coffee, and because my teeth are actually worth flashing (see?) I decided to try them, and they really work. You have to be patient, though, because results aren't instant.

 

[Larry Eshleman]

I've been wondering if I should try these, since I have a porcelain crown over one of my center teeth (i.e., very visible anytime I open my mouth).

Would it just whiten the surrounding teeth, while not having any effect on the color of the porcelain?

 

[Jefferson]

Aha! Good point. The directions say that, as you suspect, the product will not whiten any dental work, or teeth stains caused by medication or anything other than food/nicotine.

 

[Larry Eshleman]

Yeah, I was afraid that would be the case... :frowning:
Thanks for the info, though.

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

how long does it take for results to appear?
they're quite expensive...i haven't looked closely, how many strips do you get per package?

 

[Jeff Pryor]

How expensive are they?

 

[Jefferson]

I feel like the spokespeson now
yes they are expensive, but about half of what you would spend to get it done by the dentist. You get 14 days worth of upper strips and lower strips.
It took me about a week to see any result at all.
The sparkling white lasts for 6 months, according to the box, but who knows? My teeth are still white.

 

[Bill Catherall]

I don't have first hand experience with these, but one friend who has used them told me that the strips don't get between the teeth. Also, they only cover the front 4 teeth, whereas the chemicals and teeth "covers" from the dentist (which my wife has been using) will get the front 8 teeth.

Another advantage to using the dentist-supplied molds (it's a rubbery cover that's molded to your teeth) and chemicals is that, although the molds can be quite expensive, the chemicals are really cheap. So over time, if you whiten once or twice a year, it could actually be cheaper.

 

[Jefferson]

Bill, are you a dentist?
Actually, you are right, the strips only cover....well, in my mouth, the front six teeth.....but it depends on the mouth, I suppose. For the minimal amount of staining that I had, they worked just fine, for about 30 bucks, onsale.
OK Crest, I've sung your praises....now where's my free strips

 

[Patrick_S]

If you really want great results really fast you could always use BriteSmile.

A little over an hour and you are done.

Sure it costs a little more but the instant results are great.

 

[Ted Lee]

i had the dentist do mine. they make a mold of your teeth, so it fits perfectly. you inject the peroxide into the mold and then pop it into your mouth.

the main benefit is that the fit is perfect. all my teeth got an even coverage (even the bizarre nooks and crannies) and (i think) the whitening power of the peroxide is much higher than the kind you can buy over the counter.

the only thing i didn't like was i had to keep it in my mouth overnight while i slept...it was kind of irritating. i guess there is some kind that you only have to keep in for a few hours.

if possible, definitely go for the dentist. i think mine cost about 300...but i'm not sure now.

 

[Bill Catherall]

the only thing i didn't like was i had to keep it in my mouth overnight while i slept...it was kind of irritating. i guess there is some kind that you only have to keep in for a few hours.

There is another kind that is only a 15 minute treatment. My wife got sick of the overnight stuff so she bought the 15 minute stuff. It works great.
And no, I'm not a dentist.
One thing you have to be careful of with those peroxide type chemicals is that if you put too much in those plastic inserts then it will burn your gums. My wife found this out the hard way...twice.

 

[Danny R]

A few years back the Dental Association strongly warned against many such bleaching agents, because they actually eroded the enamel (and maybe were taking their business ???).

I don't know if white-strips come under this sort of thing (I think they were refering more to bleaching trays), but I'd read the fine print very carefully

 

[Brian Perry]

It would be great if they could make a whitener that would work on teeth stained by medicines such as tetracycline.