The Rapid White 1 Week Tooth Whitening System is cheap to buy at under £10, and marketed by Boots the Chemists; the only downside is that the manufacturers only promise an improvement of up to four shades, less than the claims made for many more expensive systems.
That said, an improvement of four shades is probably enough for most people. Depending on what sort of shade your teeth are to start with, (yellowish, brownish, or greyish), four shades lighter could represent a noticeable enhancement. An inexpensive kit like this might be an attractive way to test the water, so to speak – to see just how one’s smile is improved by having even slightly whiter and brighter teeth.
The Rapid White 1 Week system uses a two stage chlorine dioxide-based system, with two solutions in mouldable plastic mouth trays to cover the teeth. The first solution is sodium chlorite; this is followed by another solution which activates the first, producing a slightly acidic solution or gel said to break down the stains on your teeth.
Advantages:
- The kit is very inexpensive and many users have confirmed an improvement in the colour of their teeth over a period of a week or two with use.
- There are the usual precautions and instructions included. The system is quite straightforward to use as suggested.
Disadvantages:
- The ‘breaking down of stains on the teeth’ as claimed by the product is not true whitening as generally recognised, although it may help teeth to look whiter if they have surface discolouration. This is often the case with those who smoke, or fail to adequately brush plaque away. True whitening of the teeth involves the release of oxygen which permeates the tooth enamel to neutralise discolouration inside the body of the tooth, rather than just on the surface.
- Some users of the system have complained of problems with the mouth trays being difficult to properly mould to shape, or being uncomfortable to wear.
- Others have complained of it being time consuming, as you need to do it morning and night for up to ten minutes at a time in order to see the best results.
- Despite the picture of a woman with Hollywood white teeth on the box, the chances are your teeth are never going to look like that from using this product.
Verdict:
The product may not be as good value as it seems at first sight, since it probably only lightens the colour of your teeth by removing stains in much the same way as some stain-removing toothpastes will do. Many users notice only a very slight improvement and some also complain that the improvement doesn’t last very long.
That said, however, in most cases it does seem to live up to its promise to lighten teeth slightly; as a result, it is perhaps a better choice for those people whose teeth have only slight discoloration, as the results seem to be more obvious.
Where To Buy:
The Rapid White 1 Week Tooth Whitening System is available to buy online at Boots.com.
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