Question:
Is Crest White Strips better than the teeth whitener toothpastes? Is it
safe? I heard that teeth whitener toothpaste weakens the teeth and
increases your chances of getting cavities compared to regular
toothpaste.
Answer:
Crest WhiteStrips work wonders! I have not had good luck with whitening
toothpastes at all. I do not know if WhiteStrips are harmful to your
teeth, but Crest did a good deal of research on them and says they are
not (FWIW).
I just started on my box of professional Crest Whitestrips tonight. I
bought the kit on the internet and it comes with a great toothbrush and a
whitening toothpaste. It felt kind of weird at first but it wasn't bad at
all. I can't see a change in color after my first try but they do look
really shiny and smooth. I can't wait to finish and have nice whiter teeth.
Give it a try.
When I'm not in school, I work for a dentist who has a comprehensive
practice. He actually suggested these for me, since my teeth are not
yet in need of serious in-office bleaching. I've used them on my top
teeth and can see a definite difference. They aren't harmful, but you
might experience some tooth sensitivity (I did), which is completely
normal.
On the topic of toothpastes, those are pretty much for
maintenance--they simply clean away surface staining, but can't really
touch the stuff that's deep in the enamel. They aren't harmful, per
se, but some of the older formulas were really abrasive, which over
time, caused problems with the tooth enamel. Most newer ones have
labels that explain how abrasive they are, though even Rembrandt is
pretty mild. HTH!
No bleaching is permanent. Crest says you can use the Whitestrips as
often as every 6 months. When you have your teeth professionally
bleached at a dentist's office, you get to keep the tray and you
periodically buy more bleach from your dentist to re-lighten them.
The first time I used Whitestrips, I did not notice any change until I
had been using them about 10 days. Suddenly I noticed my top teeth were
considerably lighter than my bottom teeth (you do the top ones for the
first 2 weeks, then the bottom ones for the next 2 weeks).
I am now doing a 6 month touchup, and I ntoiced a difference in the
color of my teeth after the very first day. I guess the staining was
just superficial since I had bleached them only 6 months prior. I plan
to go ahead and finish the entire month of Whitestrips, though, because
I will be having my two top front teeth capped in a couple of months and
I want my teeth to be as white as possible before the dentist matches
the cap color to my teeth.
