You know what I love? Coffee. And red wine. Did I mention my affinity for blackberry jelly? Oh, it’s so delicious. And what do these lovely habits result in? A lot of surface stains on my teeth. So naturally I’m a veteran of home bleaching my teeth. Unfortunately I’ve never had particularly awesome teeth. They chip easily, they stain easily, and they’re crazy sensitive. So while I galloped with glee to the checkout to buy each different kind of White Strip or tray-bleaching system, I was soon after always sorely disappointed by how much my teeth hurt. Sensitive teeth can ruin your day, so I was leery when I took the chance on these new dissolving whitening strips…
When I picked up the Rembrandt “Stain Dissolving Strips” I’ll admit it was the price that allured me first. $20 for 56 strips? That’s a heck of a lot better than Crest, who seem to think their strips have been dipped in 24 karat gold. Not that they don’t work, but they’re crazy expensive and crazy painful. So I read the Rembrandt box: “Enamel-safe whitening in 2 weeks — Noticeably whitens tough surface stains, like coffee and wine…” and then the best part “…Dissolves in just 5-10 minutes with nothing to remove.” SOLD. Those nasty little plastic strips I’m used to are up there in the least polite things I’ve ever used. You think, “Oh, I can multitask. Oh hang on my White Strip is done, lemme take it out” saliva everywhere. It’s worse than a retainer in terms of anti-disiac factor. So I again happily strode to the checkout to collect my amazing bargain.
I couldn’t help myself. I tried them right when I got in the car. So you remember those Listerine breath strips? That’s what these are like, except you put them on your teeth (duh). They’re minty, they cling actually invisibly, and in 10 minutes, they’re gone. And you know what? They work. I was most concerned about an actual visible stain I’d acquired on my front tooth next to a tiny bond I got a few years ago. And in 4 uses it’s disappeared. (Don’t worry, I got the bond checked, too. No cavities, mom!) I’ve been using them for less than a week and I’ve already noticed a difference, and that’s still with my daily morning coffee and probably two glasses of red wine since. I’m impressed.
So no, I’m not looking for Zoom-whitening results. I just want my teeth to not be noticeably stained. But I really feel like I’m getting a lot for the price. It’s going to take me months to work through this box. And they don’t hurt, at all, which is such a relief. I noticed today that my teeth are a really pleasant shade of white, so I thought I’d share my success with you all. No mess, no pain, and they get the job done. I hope these stick around.
Do you use home teeth-whitening systems? What’s your experience with them?
guest
Do they work as well as the Crest white strips? I wonder if you can get a tray or use clear braces to leave the whitening substance on longer?
rose / 937 posts
Rembrandt, from what I’ve used, is great with whitening. But terrible on my sensitive teeth. Just brushing 2-3 times a day and for a good 2-3 minutes each time, and of course flossing, gets my teeth whiter at a natural pace while lessening my sensitivity. Which to me is more important than instant results.
And btw, the sensitivity (from the toothpaste) didn’t start until at least a few months of use. Whitening products definitely need to be used with caution.
sunflower / 321 posts
@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - there are a lot of different strengths of the white strips. i’d say they work as well as the original, but i haven’t tried the cuh-razy extra strength kind because the regular kind made my teeth so sensitive.
@ashleynicole - I guess everybody’s different!
guest
I like toothpaste! I’ve never tried whitening strips, but now i’m curious what the difference is.
guest
Rembrandt is pretty good I’d say! They have a whitening mouth wash which I love since it works great and it only takes about a week to notice it. I’d try that out!
guest
I wonder if it would work for me. The whitening toothpaste by Rembrant didn’t do anything for me.
ranunculus / 3285 posts
I’m excited to get my hands on them
guest
Crest White Strips are amazing, and there are lots of coupons to use when buying some. My older sister and I are both kinda obsessed with them!
guest
love them too :]
orchid / 177 posts
I use the Colgate optic white toothpaste- and it works well!
I also bleach my teeth with that 5-minute stuff. I use a Q-Tip method. People say it burns, but I’ve never experienced that, and it only happens if you get it on your gums. Carefully apply to each tooth you can in the front, top and bottom, and just keep your mouth closed and still for 15 minutes a day for 2 weeks. Constant white teeth compliments achieved.
daffodil / 1615 posts
I’m definitely going to have to try these sometime. My boyfriend uses the Crest white strips and it’s always funny trying to talk to him when he has them in :)
guest
I wish there were before and after photos! It would have been neat to see the progress.
rose / 786 posts
@ashleynicole - I agree. I can’t use the crest strips. They are too harsh. I talked to my dentist, and after finding multiply cavities, we found out that I have very week enamel. And I now have to use prescription strength fluoride toothpaste every night. For my morning brushing, I use a clinical gingivitis and cavity prevention/whitening toothpaste. It’s good on my sensitive teeth. But, the toothpastes I use are not cheap, so I can’t really afford any other type of whitening system.
orchid / 194 posts
I use baking soda for teeth whitening. As long as you only use it once a week or so, it’s safe on enamel. I’m not against trying strips – I’m just cheap and lazy and there’s already baking soda in the cabinet.
guest
You’re really convincing me to go out and buy these. Because I’ve always felt the same way about Crest, as with the weird painful tingling and the gross after use. I can never complete a box, and always end up wasting my money!
guest
Thanks for the review! I, too, love pretty much everything that stains teeth–coffee, chocolate, blueberries, blackberries, red wine, tea–so mine are not exactly a pristine white. I’m glad to hear it didn’t make your mouth hurt, since my teeth are pretty sensitive. I might give these a try!
guest
Hey, that LIP MODEL photo posted for this article has got some gorgeous lips ! believe it or not, at one time in my life, I would research the photo credit for that photo, contact the photographer, and try to meet the model….that is NOT stalking, it is an entirely gentlemanly pursuit. I don’t do that anymore because after going with several Cover Girl models, I found that the physical appearance of the woman does not presume that she is a truly beautiful person. Not that ugly women are necessarily beautiful people either. God makes the body, we take care of it well or ill; God makes the soul, and we take care of that well or ill, too. But those are some gorgeous lips in the photo above this article on the xanga site….I didn’t bother to read the article….bleh.
guest
Yess I want to try, I am so sick of taking care of my teeth only to have my coffee and tea turn them unpleasant shades of off-white
guest
I’ve used a lot. Haven’t used these though. From online reviews they don’t seem like they’d work. I’ll stick with Crest.