Crest whitening strips - sensitivity

[Mandarine]

Hello and Happy Friday!

I decided to whiten my teeth a little bit before the wedding....so last night I bought the crest strips (the 10 day, 30min x twice a day ones). I started last night and this morning had my second "dose".

Just after these 2 applications I have terrible tooth sensitivity!!...they already do look whiter though

Anyone else with this problem? Should I just do it once a day and leave them on for less time?...or should I just forget it?
Is there a whitening kit for people with sensitive teeth?

TIA!

M~

 

[somethingshiny]

I tried them myself. They caused me awful sensitivity. And, after the first 5-6 times, I didn''t notice them getting any whiter, so I stopped using them. The sensitivity went away within a couple weeks after stopping.

 

[sumbride]

That''s a very common problem. If you want to continue with them, you should probably go to 1x a day, and use a sensitive tooth paste like Sensodyne.

I have a friend who is a dentist and his wedding gift was teeth whitening. He made impressions for us and we used a gel once a day for an hour. Great whitening, but more importantly, we had no sensitivity at all. I''m not sure exactly how much it cost, but I think it was around $100 for the kit based on what I''ve seen online. If the whitestrips are unbearable, there are other options. Good luck!

 

[dani13]

MH and I had the BriteSmile tooth whitening done in one of their spas in NYC 2 wks before our wedding. Its a 1 hr treatment that feel like its 3 hrs!! Very uncomfortable- you have to sit perfectly still with your mouth wide open (held open by retractors) while the teeth are whitened....The sensitivity afterwards was insane!! For 24 hrs straight, hubby and I were so uncomfortable....if I think about it too hard, I can still remember the pain! As hubby explains it, "it feels like every root of each tooth is exposed." LOL....a little over-dramatic (that's men- right?) but he was kind of right.....Even having said all that, it was worth it...our teeth were so white for our wedding...they looked really good!

I recommend cutting the treatments down to once day and using Sensodyne toothpaste (just like sumbride said). Take Advil for the pain too, which will help.

Why does looking good have to involve pain all the time...its not fair, right?

Good luck!!!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Yes Mandy...I get that too! But they really work for me. Seems to shatter to my marrow! Arghh!

My dentist told me that with my lack of serious stain...the strips were right for me (and that any office whitening was a waste of $$$ for me). So I think it depends on each individuals color. When I go back for other work...he says you have been cheating on me! Who did you see about whitening? I said no one other than Mr. Crest just like you said!

The pain does subside and as sumbride said...you can skip an application or a day so it won''t be so intense. You will still get the same results. Also my teeth are so tiny I can get more out of my strips by cutting and using the excess from the strip cut out! Brilliant huh? Best economical choice for me, and since you are noticing already a shade lighter...I think it is best for you too! Just realize the sensitivity will go away. Honest. (when you get it don''t wrinkle up your face...you don''t want to add wrinkle reduction to the whitening application. Just grin and bear it!!)

 

[lyra]

Yep, I get the sensitivity issue too. I even got it with the whitening oral rinses. I used Colgate Total which is also good for sensitive teeth. I don''t drink coffee, tea or juices though, so in general my teeth aren''t "stained" as such. I wish I could use some OTC aid though, just to see if it made a difference.

 

[Elmorton]

Both DH and I used the whitestrips - I used Crest and DH used the knock-off kind - before our wedding, too. I had AWFUL sensitivity to hot and cold after that, so I cut back to every other day and was fine (and I do think our teeth looked white). DH whitened once a day the whole time and didn't have any sensitivity. I also did not whiten in the few days before our wedding - there was no way I was going to be wincing during our reception meal! A good response to any treatment though is that if it hurts, discontinue use.

ETA: Somewhat random sidenote - we got a consumer reports promo in the mail and it said that teeth whitening toothpaste (all brands) is a money waster - there isn't enough whitening agent/time on your teeth for it to be helpful.

 

[Mandarine]

Thank you everyone!

I will cut down to once a day (or maybe even every other day) and already bought the Sensodyne toothpaste!!....I didn''t even think of taking advil!...will try that too!!

I don''t think I need too many applications anyway...and my teeth are also tiny!!. I also don''t like the look of un-natural white teeth (reminds me of Ross from Ffriends in one of their episodes...haha).

I still have 21 days to go, so I figured I would do it this week and next and then stop for a little over a week before the wedding.

Thanks again and I''ll bear the pain for a beautiful smile!!!

M~

 

[snlee]

I had tooth sensitivity from crest white strips too. I use the strips only 2 or 3 times and it''s white enough. If you continue using the strips use them once or every other day, depending on how your teeth feel.

 

[icekid]

Yeah, my teeth are really sensitive when I use the white strips too. But... I consider it a DIET

 

[Mandarine]

LOL...
I didn''t think of it that way,....although it hasn''t stopped me from eating today! lol
M~

 

[ljmorgan]

My dentist told me to start using Sensodyne for a week or so prior to beginning the strips, and it really works. I can wear many more applications before the sensitivity starts creeping in. Without doing the Sensodyne, it takes like two applications of the Crest premium strips to kill me...

 

[jcrow]

yeh, i get sensitive too. i use them every other day and it helps. and i use sensodyne (sp?) toothpaste.
still whitens, just takes longer.

 

[monarch64]

I used Crest Whitestrips a couple years ago with no reaction. It didn''t make my teeth as white as I wanted them, so I did the Zoom whitening treatment at my dentist''s office and while the one-hour in-office treatment part didn''t cause me any pain, the next couple weeks worth of using the trays with bleach did bother my teeth a lot. I resorted to taking ibuprofen about half an hour before I did a twenty minute treatment twice a day and that helped quite a bit. Beauty really is painful, I guess...I now have braces and before every adjustment each month I take two advil and hope for the best, lol.

 

[zoebartlett]

I don't have any advice for you Mandarine, since I've never tried whitening my teeth before. I will before our wedding though. How far in advance, typically, should you begin? It's something I've wanted to do for a while.