A woman says the secret to super sparkly teeth is to wear whitening strips all night long. However, both toothpaste companies and health professionals have recommended against doing this.
That isn’t stopping people from viewing Dallas-based TikToker Nita Roxanne’s (@nitaroxanne) video and exclaiming they can’t wait to try the hack out. The TikTok on her “game-changing” hack received over 104,000 views since Thursday.
Roxanne, while sitting in her car, starts by saying that “nobody asked for this.” But she’s going to tell viewers anyway. “I’m going to put you on free game,” she says.
She says her favorite compliment to receive is when someone tells her that her teeth look nice. “You don’t even know the work I took to get like this,” she says, smiling at the camera.
Roxanne tells viewers they should buy the Crest 3D Whitestrips in a whitening level of 18. She adds to not make the mistake of buying a package that has a lower strength level of as it won’t work as well.
Roxanne does say that one’s teeth may feel extra sensitive afterward. She says she cuts her strips in half and only wears them on the front side of her teeth. She says this alleviates some of that sensitivity.
“Also, I know this is crazy, but I leave them on overnight,” she continues. Before ending her video, Roxanne smiles at the camera and places her hand under her chin, “but look!”
“Doesn’t that look pretty?” she asks. “It’s worth it. Trust me. Just do it. You’ll thank me later.”
@nitaroxanne Gamechanger ✨ #diy #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Nitaroxanne
Some viewers were taken aback by the thought of wearing whitening strips overnight.
“Overnight is insane. I could never,” one viewer said. Roxanne responded, “I promise it’s a game changer when you don’t fold the whitening strip underneath the teeth lol.”
“One time I did it overnight I felt like someone kicked my teeth in the AM worst pain,” another added.
But others shared that they can’t wait to try this hack out. “Getting them rnnnn,” said another.
Is it safe to wear Crest Whitestrips overnight?
Crest has also warned against wearing its product overnight. It firmly states to customers, “Please do not wear 3DWhitestrips while you sleep – especially overnight.”
While taking a nap during your 30-60 minute strip application time may sound convenient, “It could result in wearing the strips longer than recommended, which can result in teeth sensitivity and/or gum discomfort.”
To decide how long you should wear your strips for, Crest reminds customers that it provides a wide range of products to meet the needs of different people. “The application time and treatment length can vary. Use your strips only as often as your directions indicate,” it says.
Crest isn’t the only one advising against it
Crest 3D Whitestrips are approved by the American Dental Association and are considered safe when used occasionally and in moderation. Although “if used incorrectly or too frequently, this product may cause damage to your gums and teeth,” Thrive Dental states.
Thrive Dental does recommend cutting the strips to fit “the exact height of your teeth and apply them to your teeth, avoiding touching the gums as much as possible.”
“The strips are made of a plastic material and are coated with adhesive and hydrogen peroxide,” which are the same ingredients dentists use to whiten teeth just at lower concentrations, the dentistry states. Thrive Dental further explains that the problem with whitening strips is that the whitening gel/hydrogen peroxide isn’t “adequately sealed away from the gum tissue the way a custom whitening tray does.”
“Because of the one-size-fits-all design of these strips, it’s impossible to get a perfect seal and even distribution of the whitening gel on the teeth,” it continues. “There is also the risk of bleaching the gums and irritating them.”
The recommended and safer method Thrive Dental suggests is using custom whitening trays, “which are custom-made to fit your teeth perfectly to seal the whitening gel evenly on your teeth.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Roxanne via TikTok comment and direct message and to Crest via email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
