Crest Premium White Strips, 28 Count
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Our Price: $37.96 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Crest Premium White Strips, 28 Count
Customer Review: A Dentist Reviews This Product
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
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 tends to work better on stubbornly-stained teeth.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig, DDS
Customer Review: A Dentist Reviews This Product
Summary: 4 Stars
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. 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 eh concentration of hydrogen peroide is much higher and this works better on stubbornly-stained teeth.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig, DDS
Customer Review: Whiter Teeth for 12 Months
Summary: 4 Stars
I've used the regular Whitestrips before this and got great results (my sister, a dental hygienist, saw me and exclaimed "wow, your teeth are white!"), so I was eager to try the Premium Whitestrips.
Contrary to what some reviewers are stating here, the difference between the different Whitestrips are not how white they make your teeth, but how long the whiteness will last. Crest Premium Whitestrips supposedly make your teeth whiter for 12 months, whereas the Ultra ones keep your teeth whiter for 18 months. The original Whitestrips supposedly last 6 months. You can do the math and see what's worth it to you financially (and if you really think it will last as long as claimed).
True to the package cover, I started seeing measurable results at around 3 days. Actually, I noticed whiter teeth after even the first day, but by day three, I was feeling a few shades shy of Regis Philbin's pearly (okay, stark) whites.
The Premium kit will give you 7 days' worth of strips. You wear both upper and lower for 30 minutes twice a day. I would suggest you do it exactly as prescribed rather than following the other reviewer's claim that it's okay to wear them back to back for an hour. Things are prescribed a certain way for a reason. In this case, it may be due to the time necessary for your teeth to "recover" from the treatments. What I mean is, unlike the basic strips, I'm noticing lots more sensitivity with the Premium ones. I'm following the directions and wearing for 30 minutes twice a day. Chocolate, anything sweet or acidic all set my teeth on edge. Something about having that gap in treatments during the day seems to give the teeth time to calm down and be ready for the next session.
Others have mentioned that it's hard to keep the lower strip in place. This can be true. I've found a couple of things that help immensely. Before applying the strips, dry your mouth and teeth with a clean towel. Then apply the strips, trying to limit them to your teeth rather than gums as much as possible.
Finally, though some have said it's possible to talk with them, just don't. Your life surely has 30-minute increments of time that you're simply not needing to talk. I would also suggest not doing anything incredibly vigorous (such as cleaning the house) during that half-hour. For some reason, I've found that makes it more difficult to keep the strips in place. Perhaps we salivate more when we're working up a sweat. So reading, watching the news, driving to work, vegetating-these are all good activities.
When time's up, pull the strips off and toss them. Don't brush your teeth! Things are sensitive, so give your mouth and gums a rest. Instead, rinse with slightly warm water, and take your index finger and "brush" your teeth with it to remove any extra gel. Spit (don't swallow that stuff) and smile.
I have only two days left of this round of Chrst Whitestrips, and I'm already incredibly pleased with the results. Your teeth are some of the first things that people notice about you, and they also are something easy you can do to make yourself look more youthful. You've got nothing to lose but some gray-yellow staining and a little bit of cash. And to help with the cash, be sure to check Crest's web site where they sometimes offer coupons for the Whitestrips.
Customer Review: Ouch! They're gorgeous!
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay I am not going to go over the same moans and complains that you have heard everywhere. The main thing that you should really think about is the fact that if you need deep cleaning all over, then this isn't for you because they really only do the front teeth. There is nothing more gross than seeing someone's front teeth bright white and then they grin and the side ones look gross. It is a weird and creepy effect. Also you have got to put them on straight every time! Otherwise you could have spots that aren't as clean as the others. Yuck! Can you imagine looking like you have a piece of a popcorn hull stuck in your gums forever?! Another important thing is that they will not fit everyone's teeth. I have relatively standard sized teeth, but my husband's are a bit wider, so they didn't cover his teeth the same. Keep this in mind because his teeth are not big. I have seen big ones that they will not cover completely regardless. The main thing that I am sure has been mentioned over and over is pain. Well, don't think that it won't bother you. It will. Some people can take it better than others, but almost all feel some sort of pain and sensitivity afterwards. To me it feels as if a layer of your teeth have been stripped away. You have a sort of raw feeling like you get when you cut yourself, but not deep enough to make it bleed. Well imagine all of your front teeth feeling like that! They are exposed to liquids and foods of all kinds of temperatures. Yikes! This feeling sticks with you for quite a while after this, so if you can afford it, go to the dentist and get the real stuff done. Otherwise be prepared to pay more than the $28.50 for it.Customer Review: These help and are totally worth it
Summary: 4 Stars
I tried this product about a month ago and I must say I'm actually pretty impressed. Admittedly, my expectations for this product weren't that high prior to using it, but I think they exceeded those expectations in the end.
I knew I wouldn't get the same gleaming results as I would by getting my teeth whitened at the dentist office; anyone who has those kinds of expectations from a $25.00 grocery store item is setting themselves up for disappointment. However, the results I did get were a lot better than paying loads more to the dentist.
Like the box says, I noticed results after the third day and by the end of the week my teeth were very noticeably whiter. I'm 27 years old though, so my teeth were just starting to get that yellow-ish tint to them. I'm sure someone older than my self with a life time of say, smoking, drinking coffee or tea, would probably want to get themselves two boxes. However, if you're like me, and just had a bit of a yellow tint to your teeth and want to brighten your smile a bit, this product will do the trick.
As other reviewers have stated, after a few days of using the product your gums may become a bit sore. It's not unbearable and it goes away shortly after you take the strips off. I did notice my gums were a bit sore while brushing my teeth a few days after the last day of the strips, but hey, no pain, no gain. That little bit of pain was worth it to me to have a better smile. I feel a lot more confident when I smile now, that's for sure.