Thursday, April 22, 2010

Product review: OTC whitening strips


So as I previously mentioned I had my teeth cleaned on Monday by a very respected clinician, and we reviewed oral hygiene together. This of course, stirred up a flurry in our house, involving getting out our Oral B Triumph electric toothbrush from the closet, buying lots of fancy floss, and most glamorously, finding the Crest Whitestrips that we bought and started using a year ago before we stopped caring about whitening.
We got the electric toothbrush for free in dental school, and used it until we moved into our new apartment last year. We have a very strange electrical outlet situation that prevented us from plugging it in the actual bathroom. Then the hygienest at one of my offices suggested charging it in another room every third night and putting it back in the morning. Genius! Why didn't I think of that?
Well, with the electric toothbrush I note that my teeth feel significantly cleaner, there is no comparison. My gums are much healthier (noticable in 2 days,) which you can evaluate by how pink and tight they are around your teeth. (You don't want red and puffy.)
Anyway, I digress, this is supposed to be about the Crest White Strips. We started using them 3 days ago, and the box says that you should notice results in 3 days. I have to say, I think my teeth are "noticably whiter." Maybe even a quarter to half of a shade, which is quite a lot for a few days.
There are a few downsides. One is that I have giant teeth, so the upper whitestrip doesn't cover my teeth from premolar to premolar. The second one is that I usually can't tolerate the strips in my mouth for the whole recommended 30 minutes, so I usually do 10-15. The final one is the sensitivity. My lower teeth have been spontaneously sensitive, but not moreso to hot/cold. It isn't really bad though, probably a 3/10 on the pain scale, and it is almost totally relieved with a few Advil.
So upside: seems to actually work, even though its only been 3 days, and I haven't been bleaching the whole 30 minutes.
I heartily recommend them!

In other self-beautifaction endeavors I was going to try this Blue Print Cleanse that I saw on one of my favorite blogs. I didn't think it would actually do anything but I wanted to try it just for kicks. Then I found out it was $255 so that's on hold. Has anyone ever tried it?

1 comment:

  1. ok i love all of that information (and your grandma is super cute btw) and am glad to hear the electric toothbrush is better and that white strips work. i also have major problems with sensitivity and overall grossness of the slobbery gunk in them, but if they really work, i am def gonna push through. i love the product testing posts....you should do more of those!

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