Two years ago I got my braces off, since then I have been meaning to whiten my teeth but the £160 price tag at my dentist was absurd. My mother bought me a whitening kit from Boots. That bright-light-white-thingy-na-bobby, Y'know. Anywho, it doesn't matter about the name because it was a waste of money and didn't work.
I tried one of those teeth whitening pens. I think it did work, in a very minor way. Nothing to write home about. Besides, with what I'm about to tell you about these Crest strips I doubt you will want to spend your money on a overpriced & over hyped magic tooth wand.
I kicked my oral hygiene routine up a notch (which I will go over in another post, along with my opinions on blanx toothpaste) which definitely made my teeth look much brighter and whiter. However, I still couldn't kick the yellow left behind from my braces and some ridiculously-middle-class-balsamic-vinegar-induced staining.
So I went onto the interwebs and did some looking around for teeth whitening, everywhere I looked Crest came up again and again. Alas, Crest White Strips aren't readily available here in the UK, at least as far as I know. Ebay saves the day once again, I found a good seller which I may post a link to later. I bought the normal strength advanced seal type ( see picture of box above) for £30 inc p&p. I bought the advanced seal because I heard they were more effective since they didn't slip and slide around, so even though the non-advanced seal ones are cheaper, you would need more to get the same effect.
Crest comes in varying strengths depending on your desired result and sensitivity. I bought the normal version, there are more intense and gentle strengths. They suggest depending on how much discomfort you experience you use these either every day or every other day. My teeth are quite sensitive but I had very little problem with discomfort, however, I would like to attribute that to my sensodyne toothpaste. When I used other toothpastes my mouth felt like munching nails would be a preferable alternative, when I used my sensodyne; no problems at all.
So in the pack I bought it was a two week supply. You get 14 individually wrapped strips for your upper and lower teeth. As well as instructions.The strips are gel covered plastic, on a plastic backing which you need to carefully peel off and place on your teeth.
I would brush my teeth as normal in the morning, I would use these when studying in the afternoon.5 minutes before I put on the strip I would lightly brush my teeth with a manual toothbrush and no toothpaste because I read that toothpaste and mouth wash ingredients make them less effective, I don't know if that's true but better safe than sorry. I would then swirl my mouth out with water. Wait for saliva to accumulate (attractive, I know) and then place the strips on.
The reason these strips are called "advanced seal" is because do not slip and the product is 'sealed' in as opposed to the original crest strips. Therefore there is a technique to putting them on. The picture above shows how these strips are quite wide and have a 'overhang'. Place them on your teeth, then fold the 'overhang' around the back of the teeth with your fingers and tongue. The saliva on your teeth will help them bond better. Then just wait 30 minutes. I didn't mind the taste, i didn't taste much, what I did taste was almost peppery. After the 30 minutes I just rinsed my mouth out with water. Then in the evening I would brush my teeth as usual with my electric toothbrush and sensodyne.
So you do this either every day for two weeks or every other day for four weeks. I did this almost everyday however I went on holiday for a week and a half so I kept forgetting, my bad. Anyway, these are the results after two weeks.... 
( before and after)
Et voila! I don't know if you can see a difference but I can. I still can't get over how unflattering teeth look, at least my teeth look, close up without the added ens amble of my face. Anyway... For only £30 I think these are AMAZING. Holy grail with out a doubt. I'm going to buy another few boxes, when I can afford it, to do another treatment and maintain the results. Considering at the dentist its £160, I'm sure three treatments of these strips which would be £90 would be just as good, if not better.
( before and after)I hope you found this useful!
Yours truly,
Prefect.
