This is a follow up to a post of a couple of days ago: Crest Whitestrips Risks, where I discussed with Susan the root canal treatment she ended up needing for a tooth damaged by Whitestrips.
Susan,
Very interesting.
I have a follow-up question, if you wouldn’t mind writing back. Was this Crest PROFESSIONAL EFFECTS Whitestrips, or Advanced Vivid? Or Vivid? Or another type of Whitestrips? Which product did you use, exactly?
The lingering pain after the cold test is a strong indication that a tooth needs a root canal treatment, so I’m confident, from what you’re telling me here, that it did need that. And it is reassuring that your dentist didn’t think the Whitestrips would help your esthetic issue. I had assumed that your dentist had recommended this.
The peroxide that is in the bleaching ingredient in the Whitestrips is irritating. I am aware of one case, a number of years ago, where a woman had exposed cavities and used the clinical-strength peroxide bleach on her teeth and ended up needing root canals. This was a very rare occurrence, and at the time was the only reported case of bleaching damaging a tooth. But the bleaching treatment was used contrary to recommendations. Now the peroxide in Whitestrips is fairly weak, and I have never heard of a tooth being harmed by that. I do not believe that there are any reports in the literature of this happening before.
If the bleach did cause this, there needed to be some other compromising factor. Perhaps the gum recession left some exposed dentin. The root of your tooth is supposed to be covered with cementum, but in some cases, there is a gap between where the cementum ends and the enamel begins – an area of exposed dentin.
Anyway, this is a very interesting case of teeth damage from Crest Whitestrips.
– Dr. Hall
Dr. Hall,
I used the “Crest 3D Whitestrips – ADVANCED VIVID – once a day -14 whitening treatments”. I used them for 3 days and then stopped over the weekend and then used them 1 more day, forgot the next day, and then used them for 3 more days, making a total usage of 7 days. I had no problems with sensitivity until midday after using them on the 7th day.
That is when my front incisor began hurting and then the pain increased daily. I contacted my dentist four days after the pain began and you know the rest of my story. How safe do you think I am in continuing to bleach my teeth using the other 7 packets left in the box? Like I said earlier, I’d much rather have yellow, healthy teeth than white, unhealthy teeth!
Thanks again for your help and advice!
Susan
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
David Epstein DDS says
Very interesting.