The Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening Kit is peroxide-free, meaning that it meets the new EU rules on over-the-counter teeth whitening products which must contain no more than 0.1% peroxide to be legal.
The whitening gel uses blue light technology to boost its whitening power. Simply squeeze gel into the mouth tray and place over your teeth. Once you switch the unit and blue light on, it will automatically last for 10 minutes before turning off. You can repeat the treatment for up to three times each session, in order to get the best results.
The unit has adjustable power and two treatment modes; there is also a quick 12-minute top up option. Once finished, simply remove the unit (mouth tray and light) from your mouth.
The manufacturers say that in most cases, you will start to notice results almost immediately after your first treatment.
The Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening Kit promises to be effective on such tooth stains as those caused by tea, coffee, red wine, smoking and ageing. Take note, however, that the manufacturers admit the system will be much more effective at whitening yellow teeth – claiming dramatic changes in many instances – while teeth with blue or grey stains may be slower to improve.
The manufacturers state the kit is safe to use weekly or even daily within the first month, but once you have reached the whitening level you want, it should be topped up by monthly treatments.
The main active ingredient within the gel in the Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening Kit is sodium perborate. Other ingredients include glycerine, aqua, silica, xanthan gum, droxythylcellulose, sodium gluconate, citric acid and sodium citrate.
The kit includes the Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening unit, two mouth trays, three syringe applicators containing the whitening gel, two lithium batteries and instructions. The kit costs £30.59 from Boots.
Advantages:
- The procedure is easy to use
- Being peroxide free, it is gentle on gums
- The gel in the mouth trays should reach those hard to reach spots, such as between teeth, which other forms of teeth whitening – such as pens or strips — cannot.
- It only uses mild stain removers which are of food grade.
- It is convenient; the process only lasts for 30 minutes at a time.
Disadvantages:
- Users complain that the gel doesn’t last long and it is difficult to buy refills. You may end up having to buy the entire thing again, making it even more expensive.
- The mouth guards provided with the product are a standard fit and are not customisable to your teeth. As such, they may not fit very well and there may be leakage of the gel. While this gel is not hazardous to your health, it may be unpleasant.
- Some users have also complained that the mouth trays break easily.
- Somewhat bizarrely, other users have complained that the teeth whitening gel did not whiten the tops of their teeth, as the mouth tray or shield did not cover this part, leaving them with uneven whitening.
- Users have also complained that the whitening seems temporary, fading after just a few hours.
- While sodium perborate, being peroxide free, meets the new EU rules on teeth whitening products, the consensus by dentists is that it isn’t as powerful or as effective as a traditional peroxide kit. Being as these are being phased out, however, there isn’t much that anyone can do about it.
- While not as effective as bleaching with peroxide, sodium perborate should help to reduce stains if present in a concentration of about 30% or more. Unfortunately, this product does not tell us the concentration of the active ingredient within it.
Verdict:
User reviews on the Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening Kit are inconclusive. While the majority are negative, complaining that the product doesn’t work at all, others are full of praise. There does seem to be one common thread among those who were happy with the product, however – they persevered. These users point out that you must be patient with the product to see any effective results.
As sodium perborate is not as effective or as strong as traditional peroxide, it stands to reason that it may take longer to whiten your teeth. The company’s own literature, therefore, — which points out that many people see an almost immediate whitening response – may be both misleading and ill-thought out.
Reading between the lines, the Rio Blue Light Teeth Whitening Product may be worth investing in if you only want to see a few shades difference in lightening and not anything more dramatic. Likewise, it sounds as if it works best on yellow teeth as opposed to grey or blue ones. If you have teeth with grey or blue stains, you may be better advised to use a traditional peroxide tooth whitening product while you can still get them.
Where to Buy:
Buy online at Boots http://www.boots.com/en/Rio-Blue-Light-teeth-whitening_121270/
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