Listerine: Making Those Pearly Whites Whiter

I’ve tried several whitening products in the past, and while I’ve usually been pleased with the results, sometimes the road to whiter teeth can be too long and have too many little pitfalls for me to want to try it again. However, there’s finally a product that fits my needs without being a pain to deal with, Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolve Strips!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never tried to have my teeth whitened by a dentist. The cost just seems too high to me for what I would consider a cosmetic issue in the end. After all, my teeth are clean, straight, and all mine. A little more white in my choppers is just a nicety. Still, I’ll also admit to being vain. My teeth certainly aren’t yellowed beyond all belief, but they’re certainly not white either, and since I’m vain, I’m willing to search for a way to fix it.

The first stop on my quest for whiter teeth was what I was hoping would be my only stop and I tried the whitening strips made by Crest. Sure enough, they did the trick after the two weeks of nightly treatments the instructions called for. However, they had several downsides that just drove me nuts! The biggest issue I had was that no matter how long or short a time frame I left them on, the next morning my teeth were overly sensitive. Truly a pain when having hot pizza and a cold soda for lunch! As if to add insult to injury I ended up with bleached fingertips by the end of the first week too! It seems that the whitening formula used is strong enough to bleach out and damage the first few layers of skin, no matter how quickly you wash it off your hands when you’re done applying the strips (and again after you remove them). In the end, even though my teeth were whiter, they were overly sensitive and my fingers looked like they had been dipped in white paint. There had to be an easier way.

A few months later I saw that Listerine had a whitening mouthwash. Just rinse as you normally would with Listerine, and then brush your teeth afterwards. Seemed pretty simple to me! Well, my fingers certainly retained their color throughout that test, but no matter how much I tried and rinsed with it, I just didn’t see any solid results. Maybe I’m still looking for that quick fix in our one-hour photo, “I want it now” society, but after a month and only seeing marginal results I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try another bottle of the stuff.

Now Listerine has their latest weapon in the fight for white teeth, their whitening quick dissolve strips. I bought a box to try as I was hoping that they would have the whiting power of the Crest strips, but be sensitive and easier to use like the mouthwash. The Tooth Fairy must have been smiling on me when I bought them (or at least on the review panel for the quick dissolve strips) because I haven’t found a single thing that bothers me about them. After only a few uses I could already notice my teeth getting whiter, without getting more sensitive no less! My fingers are still their original color (unless I really do go dipping them in white paint). Best of all, I don’t have to watch the clock and remember to remove them as the dissolve on their own! One size fits all, top or bottom, and all I have to do is put them on and forget about them! Finally, a tooth whitening product that really works for me!

Now if Listerine could just come out now with a tooth whitening coffee…