In the coming weeks, you may find yourself primping and prepping for holiday parties. New outfit? Fancy hair? Nails done? We all know that the best accessory we can have is a great smile. I feel confident with my grin, but in this season of brighter and redder lipsticks, I do find myself wondering if my teeth couldn’t look just a little more white sometimes. When the kind folks at Crest offered to let me test drive their Crest 3D White Whitestrips Intensive Professional Effects, I jumped at the opportunity.
These white strips are the most intensive and effective variety that you can find in the drugstores. They take some commitment (2 hours a day for 7 days), but the promised payoff is a whiter, brighter smile.
Pros
- After a full week of trying these out I can report that my teeth look brighter and whiter. They’re not Ross Geller blinding, but that’s not what I was looking for. They look clean and sparkly and I’ve been wearing my bright pink lipstick with confidence, not concerned about whether the pink tint makes my teeth look a little yellow.
- These stay on very well for the full two hours required. I’ve read that some white strips loosen up, and fall off easily, making it difficult to go on with your business while wearing them. Once these are in place, they’re snug and barely visible, and I found myself almost forgetting they were there. I wore them once during my commute and didn’t feel overly aware that they were on.
Cons
- I noticed some real sensitivity (not pain) after the second day, and I was concerned that it might increase as the week went on. Instead, the sensitivitiy disappeared after a few hours and didn’t return during the week. I don’t tend to have sensitive teeth at all, but if you do, this may be a problem.
- Two hours a day for 7 days is a commitment. You’ve got to plan their wearing around your day (when will you have 120 minutes during which you don’t want to eat, drink, sleep or speak with people close-up?). A couple of days I missed my window (arriving home from the kids’ hockey at 9:30pm and knowing I’d never stay awake until 11:30), so I ended up wearing these over 9 days instead of the prescribed 7 days. It didn’t seem to make a difference.
I’m really glad I tried these out. I spoke with my dental hygenist first, who assured me that worn once a year, there’s no danger to my teeth enamel. This is the equivalent of colouring your hair at home; you’d probably get a better job at the salon, but this is a less expensive and convenient way to go.
Crest 3D Whitestrips Intensive Professional Effects retails for approximately $69.99 and can be found at drugstores across the country.
This post is not sponsored. I was given a package of Whitestrips for review, but I was not compensated and all opinions expressed are my own.