This P699 teeth whitening kit works in three days - here's a before and after
This story is brought to you by Radiant
Confession #1: I’ve always had a complicated relationship with my teeth. I’ve always been self-conscious about their appearance, from the crooked alignment to the yellowish tinge. While the former was somewhat improved by getting braces, the latter remained to be a source of frustration.
Confession #2: I’ve been inquiring about teeth whitening services with dentists since I was in high school, but the P10,000+ price tag was always a huge deterrent. Besides, my current dentist has advised against it, saying that my teeth aren’t too heavily stained or discolored for me to go for the full-on, in-office treatment. So what am I to do?
If you can relate to my predicament, you’ll be excited to know that Watsons has a solution called the Radiant Teeth Whitening Kit. This nifty P699 drugstore set contains about nine sessions’ worth of whitening treatments that allow you to DIY in the comfort of your own home. Inside the box are three syringes of whitening gel (each syringe has about three uses!), a silicone tray, a portable blue LED “flashlight”, additional instructions, as well as a shade chart to track the treatment progress. And after three rounds of whitening, I’m ready to share my experience!
There is a bit of a learning curve when figuring out the best way to use the kit. It begins with attaching the silicone tray to the flashlight, which can prove to be tricky as the “lip” of the mouthpiece has quite a snug fit around the edges of the LED light. Be careful fitting this in! The mouth piece comes in only one size, so it will help if you get a feel for how it fits first inside your mouth before putting in the gel.
Each syringe of the whitening gel has 3 ml; spread 1ml on the tray of the mouthpiece and spread it around to fill the tray carefully with a cotton bud or clean finger.
According to the additional directions in the enclosed leaflet, the kit can be “used up to two times a day for at least 10 minutes per session”. So I set my timer for 10 minutes during the first day and first trial. I didn’t feel any stinging or sensitivity, apart from the slight ngawit of having to hold the mouthpiece in place and the discomfort of not being able to swallow for a prolonged period. If you practice oil pulling, you probably won’t bat an eyelash at the prospect of holding spit in for that long.
I was curious to see if increasing the treatment time would make a difference so I later extended the wait to 30 minutes for maximum effect and still did not suffer any sensitivity issues afterwards. Yay!
Following two sessions of 30 minutes each done one day after the other, I noticed that a stubborn yellow stain on the surface of one of my front teeth had almost entirely disappeared. And after the third day’s 30-minute session, I was thrilled to see an overall brightening effect on my teeth, including some discolored interdental nooks and crannies. Granted, I have a yellow dental undertone by nature, so I’m never going to achieve a cool-toned white but it does boost confidence to know that I can make my teeth about two shades whiter in just three days!
There is a caveat with using at-home bleaching products, however. I have white patches at the edges of some teeth, and they’ve become more visible after each session and then fade again in a few days. The patches are particularly noticeable in the areas of the teeth most exposed to the bleaching gel. I suspect it could be very mild fluorosis from way back, but I’ll have to ask the dentist on my next appointment. At any rate, I think I'll just use the kit only twice or thrice a month for 30 minutes each to keep my pearly whites looking bright.
Here's a closer look at my progress. The leftmost photo shows the original state of my teeth before applying the Radiant treatment. The middle photo was taken after the second treatment, and finally the rightmost photo is from my third day of trial. My teeth are visibly whiter and brighter!
Overall, I found the LED-powered Radiant Teeth Whitening Kit to be fast and effective at dealing with mild surface stains minus the gum sensitivity often associated with tooth bleaching. That said, I don't know how it would fare for people with sensitive gums or teeth, so do use with caution if you have either condition and consult with your dentist first to be sure. If you prefer a more tailor-fitted approach, you can also try the Radiant Teeth Whitening Pen (P169) to apply on each tooth individually or get the Radiant Teeth Whitening Pen bundled with the Radiant Whitening Strips (P468). They also have the Radiant Teeth Whitening Powder which is applied the same way as toothpaste.
Have you ever gone for a teeth whitening treatment? Would you consider trying this DIY kit?
Radiant is available in Watsons stores and from Lazada.com.ph
Photography by Marielle Ong and Samantha Gonzales
