Safest Teeth Whiteners
The safest ways to whiten your teeth explained
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Crest Whitening Emulsions is Crest’s entry into the at-home teeth-whitening market. It’s an award-winning water-resistant gel designed to be applied to your teeth in seconds and left on all day.
Crest promises its product will leave your smile fresher and whiter. Most importantly, it causes virtually no tooth sensitivity (as verified by the Better Business Bureau).5
Its non-toxic ingredients are gentle on enamel, meaning it can be applied up to four times a day. That makes it helpful for clearing up stains after drinking wine or coffee.
And because it's a gel and not toothpaste, that means there’s no need to rinse. Application takes one minute, making it perfect for those with busy schedules.
Crest Whitening Emulsions comes in three varieties:
Crest Whitening Emulsions has strong customer reviews. Allure magazine even gave it their 2021 Best in Beauty Award.
Unlike many teeth-whitening products, Crest Whitening Emulsions doesn’t cause tooth sensitivity.
This is a common side effect of many tooth-whitening products, which use a whitening agent called hydrogen peroxide.
While safe and effective, it can temporarily dehydrate teeth by leaching minerals from pores in the enamel. This exposes the sensitive layer of dentin underneath, causing sensitivity.
Crest Whitening Emulsions actually uses a high amount of hydrogen peroxide (9.5%). But it does so in a different way than other brands.
To understand how this works, it’s important to know what an emulsion is.
An emulsion is a way to keep liquids from separating. Emulsions are often used to make beauty care products like moisturizing creams and lotions.
In Crest’s case, this lets their product do two things:
This is what makes Crest Whitening Emulsions different from other whitening products. It whitens more intensely and for a longer time while causing virtually no sensitivity.
Pros of Crest Whitening Emulsions:
Cons of Crest Whitening Emulsions:
Crest Whitestrips was introduced over twenty years ago. It’s well regarded by both consumers and dentists alike.
As the name implies, it’s a series of strips you press firmly against your teeth. You wear them for thirty minutes and then remove them.
Because it’s been around so long, Crest Whitestrips has some advantages over Crest Whitening Emulsions.
One of those is the Seal of Acceptance from the American Dental Association. That means it's certified as safe and effective.
Being relatively new, Crest Whitening Emulsions doesn’t have this at the moment.
Crest Whitestrips also has more Amazon reviews - over 51,000 reviews, at the time of writing, and nearly all positive.
By comparison, Crest Whitening Emulsions has just over 4,300 reviews. Crest Whitestrips also has a slightly higher overall rating.
One common complaint about Crest Whitestrips is teeth and gum sensitivity. It also takes longer to see results, whereas the emulsions noticeably whiten teeth with just one treatment.
Some reviews also cite Crest Whitening Emulsions as having a less overpowering mint flavor than Crest Whitestrips.
If you’re curious as to what other options there are, here are four alternatives to Crest Whitening Emulsions:
Snow At-Home Teeth-Whitening is a bleaching tray with a built-in LED light to whiten your teeth. It comes highly reviewed and won’t cause teeth sensitivity.
Two drawbacks are price and usability.
Snow’s kit currently retails for over three times the price of Crest’s own LED option. The LED also has a nine-minute application time to Crest’s three minutes.
Auraglow’s Teeth-Whitening Pen is a fast and convenient way to gently whiten your teeth. Because it's a pen, it can be used on the go, making it ideal for busy people.
It comes at a very affordable price and comes with a subscription service for added convenience.
This complete system uses ingredients such as coconut oil and sage to whiten teeth naturally and gently. This makes it a good option for those concerned with microbiome health.
Unlike the other products mentioned so far, it doesn’t use hydrogen peroxide, pens, LED lights, or trays.
Here’s what’s included:
It comes at a price comparable to Crest’s Built-In Applicator option. Reviews say it will whiten your teeth without causing sensitivity.
One thing to keep in mind is that two whitening strips are used each day - one for the top and one for the bottom teeth.
At 14 whitening strips, that’s only seven treatments, making this a relatively pricey option.
For traditional tooth-whitening toothpaste, this is a good option. This product comes with the dentist-recommended amounts of fluoride and hydrogen peroxide.
While not as effective in whitening as the other products mentioned so far, it will remove surface stains. It’s also the most affordable option by far, making it great for those on a budget.
Crest Whitening Emulsions is available on Amazon and comes at three different prices, depending on the option you choose:
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