How I whiten my teeth: Crest Whitestrips and Colgate Optic White

For the longest time, I was really conscious of the color of my teeth. They weren't super yellow but they weren't exactly white, either. I inquired about teeth whitening at dental offices, and they quoted me between P10,000 to P18,000. My parents spent so much on braces and retainers when I was younger, so I really didn't feel like spending that much money on making them white, but also wanted to be able to show off the fruit of all those years of sitting in the dentist's chair. So I did some research and asked a few beauty YouTubers how they whiten their teeth, and the uniform answer was Crest Whitestrips.

You're supposed to use one box of these, which has 20 strips inside, every six months. With the first box, I definitely noticed a difference. I'm now on my second box and my teeth look bright but not unnaturally  white.

Here's my before and after:



The Before photo was taken with a flash at night, while the After photo was taken under fluorescent light. In other lighting my Before teeth looked even yellower, ugh. But the gauge is seeing how my teeth now are closer to the whites of my eyes than my teeth before. I keep reading that the "rule" for keeping teeth looking white but not scary is not to whiten them more than the whites of your eyes.


To maintain my teeth being bright, I use Colgate Optic White toothpaste. It's a more expensive Colgate variety but you only need the tiniest amount, so a tube lasts several months.

I did feel a little sensitivity on my teeth after maybe the first 15 strips, so for the last few strips I would just use them every other night. Of course, you don't need to use up the entire box if your teeth have already whitened to your satisfaction.

I'm much more confident now to wear red or other deep- or bright-colored lipsticks with whiter teeth. I definitely think you can pull off more pigmented lipstick shades when your teeth look nice and white.

I ordered my Crest Whitestrips through my aunt at first and then through a Cebu-based online seller, but they are available in Somera Ayala for I believe P2,500 per box. I highly recommend these if you're looking for a safe, easy and effective way to whiten your teeth at home.