Coffee, tea, red wine and cigarettes are known to stain teeth. And most people, by the time they reach their 50’s have teeth that are less than white, even if they don’t smoke or drink coffee and red wine. Who wants to give the world a big, pearly yellow smile? I couldn’t afford the $495 whitening trays with gel kit offered by my dentist, so he suggested I try Crest Whitestrips.
I purchased Crest Whitestrips Premium, the 7 day dental whitening formula. The box made a claim to see whiter teeth after 3 days that would last for 12 months. Inside was 28 strips – 14 for upper, 14 for lower to be used for 30 minutes twice a day and an instruction leaflet. It looked simple. Just peel the Whitestrip from the backing, align with the gum line and press, then fold over the teeth on the top. Peel, align, press and fold over the bottom teeth and remove after 30 minutes. The leaflet even suggested that you could use them anytime – in the shower, commuting to work or talking on the phone. Information provided explained Crest Whitestrips only worked on natural teeth and would not whiten fillings, dentures, caps, crowns or veneers. They advise not to use with braces and to consult your dentist if you have staining from medication. Eating, drinking, smoking and sleeping while wearing Crest Whitestrips is not recommended.
Armed with all my new found information I was ready to take the plunge. When trying to peel the top strip from the backing it folded over and stuck to itself. I pried it apart, getting the gel all over my fingers but eventually got the strip on my teeth. It didn’t look even, so I had to slide it over. The bottom was a little easier. At that point I decided to call my sister. Cross off the talking on the phone. The strips make you sound like your mouth is full of food when speaking and even worse they come off the backside of your teeth because your tongue is moving against them. For the rest of the week I spent my 30 minutes watching TV or surfing on line.
After 4 days my gums were red and I felt stinging pain, so I consulted my leaflet. Some people experience tooth sensitivity and gum irritation which is temporary and not harmful. They suggested to use the Whitestrips once a day or stop for 2-3 days and then resume. My gums were so irritated that it hurt to even drink cold water, so I discontinued using the strips for 2 days. I realized that when applying the strips they were sliding around and I was overlapping my gums, instead of aligning against my gums. When I restarted using the Whitestrips, I used a paper towel to dry my teeth off and then applied the strip. This made the strip adhere better and prevented it from sliding around. The last 3 days went without a hitch.
The end result is that my teeth are several shades whiter and all the surface stains are removed. I would recommend Crest Whitestrips Premium with a few warnings. Make sure your teeth are dry before applying. This will prevent the strips from sliding around. Make sure you don’t cover your gum line. Last, make sure you wipe off the excess gel left on your teeth with a paper towel and rinse with water after removing the Whitestrip.
