Which do you recommend: Crest 3D Whitestrips or Colgate Visible White?

Most at home whitening products work by using the same chemicals to bleach the teeth.  The over the counter products such as Crest Whitestrips are limited in the concentration of bleach that they can sell over the counter.  This means that the results you get from these products is both limited and slow.  In office whitening products such as Zoom use a stronger concentration of bleach and speed up the process by adding a plasma arc light to the bleach.  This is by far the best way to bleach your teeth.  If you want a great result, throw away the over the counter product and get your teeth ZOOMED!  Good luck. 

   

Whitening strips whitens your smile on the go via prefilled, disposables trays. Its effective  and easy to use. The disadvantages with it, is that it will take longer for a great result and sometimes it does not work at all. Rather than heading to the local cosmetic counter or shopping mall in search of teeth whiteners, star with a dental check up. This way, the cause of discoloration can be diagnosed. Whitening products only work on natural tooth enamel, not on crowns, veneers, bonding materials or tooth colored fillings. Being a cosmetic dentist, i am aware of how desirable  it is to have white,bright teeth and how it impacts your confidence, well being, and your entire life.

Great question!  There are so many different choices for at home whitening that it can be confusing to choose the one best for you.  If you have a dentist, visit them first in order to know if you are even a good candidate for teeth whitening or take a picture and show us here.  Between the two products you have listed it just depends on which one you prefer based on the administration method.  Strips can be a little clumbsy, but if you have straight teeth you can usually get fairly good results.  The Colgate product you mentioned I think is just a gel product that goes in a tray type of delivery system.  Trays can be a more comfortable way to whiten teeth if your teeth are not aligned perfectly. 

When using home products of any type you are going to sacrifice speed of whitening and intensity based on the fact that the gels and pastes have to be below a certain concentration of whitener in order to be considered over the counter.  However, frequency can help you overcome these obstacles to some degree.  You will have to use home whitening products more frequently to get a desired result and continue to use them. 

Whitening teeth is like getting a tan or coloring your hair.  The teeth want to go back to their original color after a time.  So, you have to continue to whiten and find a maintenance program that works best for you.  In office whitening does almost always provide a more impressive result in a shorter period of time, however like home whitening, still requires a maintenance plan to effectively keep teeth white over the long run. 

I have posted a video showing a midrange type of whitening (not as expensive, time consuming) that some people prefer over Zoom.  Hope this helps.

Hope that helps :)

Tooth whitening continues to improve with time. It is one of the safest treatments we do.  However, there are limitations.  Over the counter whitening works great for young adults and adults who are disciplined and don't need much to lighten and brighten.  They do wonders for brown spots on front teeth as well. They can be messy and uncomfortable.  There are many products on the market.  I recommend either Crest White Strips or Tres White (which is a take home professional whitening product that does not require trays by Opalescence) for over the counter whitening.  Ask your dentist for recommendations!  We do custom trays, Zoom, Power Boost and Kor Whitening as well.   Much success-

White strips are a polyethylene strip which has hydrogen peroxide impregnanted it in. It is placed on the teeth and needs to remain in contact with them to whiten. Each strip only is a certain length and may no even cover all the front teeth especially if you have some crowding.  I would recommend you look at an in office whitening system like Zoom or Kor Deep Bleaching to help whiten your teeth.

All whitening systems (strips, gel, etc.) use pretty much the same chemicals to get the job done. The differences between the different brands of strips will be minor. The advantages of in-office whitening over do-it-your-self home kits are these. White strips work great on straight teeth. Zoom and other "like-Zoom" products work on straight and crooked teeth. White strips take weeks to get their results (usually not a problem) while Zoom gives you a result in one hour. You monitor your white strips yourself. Your dentist will be supervising your in-office care. Whitening, like brushing your teeth, is an on-going process. Even after your initial Zoom session, you'll have to continue whitening on a weekly basis to maintain the results.

Best results achieved  in order  of efficacy  are:

1)Zoom and in office whitenings,

2) Take home kits made by the dentist with thier recommneded product

3) over the counter products .