Strip Based Systems

Crest® Whitestrips™ and Generic Strips: The Whitestrips™ form of bleaching eliminates the need for various trays and uses a flexible strip to apply a finite dose of bleach.³¹ The strip form for whitening is shown below (Figure 17) from the introductory material associated with the introduction of the innovation.

Figure 17. Original strip form of bleaching from Crest Whitestrips²⁷

Figure 17. Original strip form of bleaching from Crest Whitestrips²⁷

The original system had a hydrogen peroxide gel applied on a flexible strip which was flexible to apply a form fit on the teeth. Efficacy and tolerability were good owing the control of dose and concentration. Numerous generic forms of whitening strips have been introduced in recent years, though the efficacy of the branded product has the most evidence. Whitening strips were also shown to provide efficacy in long-term bleaching of hard-to-treat tetracycline stains.^106-115 Clinical effects are shown below (Figure 18).

Figure 18

Pre-treatment

Immediate post-treatment

Figure 18

Image Source: Dr. Gerald Kugel, DMD, MS, PhD