While price is one of the biggest considerations in buying almost anything, the reviews of the product often are as important or even more important than cost. Consumers want to know what their peers and the professionals say about not only a particular product but its brand and how one brand compares to another and one product compares to another. Think about it; while you were reading this article you were probably mentally comparing the different kinds of products mentioned and wondering how they would rate comparatively if put up for review. Likewise, if you viewed the products from Whiter Smile you may have wondered how they compared to the other brands offered for sale on the Whiter Smile website.
For reviews to be most helpful, it is important a person remembers some basic guidelines about reviews. These guidelines are a good measuring stick about the efficacy of the reviews themselves for any product not just teeth whitening products. However, they are particularly important for health and cosmetic reasons since those products are used on the body, and they are important for markets where there are lots of options in product, high demand, and every product or brand is not necessarily created equal.
Don’t Compare Apples and Oranges
It’s important not to compare the price of over-the-counter whitening strips to professional at home trays or strips and assume that the professional kit is merely an overpriced sell. While you will want to compare various products to decide which type is the best for you overall, it is important to remember that reviews about one product or even one brand may not be in any way related to reviews on another brand. Once you have an idea of what type of product you want to use and a few brands on the market, compare those specific brands to get more telling results when reading product reviews.
Avoid Amazing or Horrible Reviews
Probably everyone is familiar with the example story about the product that Person A bought with unreasonable expectations or without research and the same product which Person B bought under better circumstances with proper expectations and after doing some research. While the product is the same and probably produced similar results for both buyers, which review will probably come out being a more unrealistic review of how the product actually should work? Just as you want to weed out extremely negative reviews, you may want to discount reviews which laud a product as the best thing ever with no faults. Analyse the reviews somewhere in the middle for the most accurate results.
Check more than one site and more than one brand
Being a die-hard user of Colgate products doesn’t mean that checking on prices of competing Crest products can’t be beneficial. Sometimes varying brand policies and conditions can cause a difference in price that is worth trying a different name brand or a lesser known name product. Along the same line, it is a good idea to look for reviews of the same product on more than one site to see if they remain consistent with what you have seen on a single site. Consistency in reviews is usually a good sign the reviews are accurate.
Consider the Source
When looking for reviews online or anywhere else, be certain to weigh the value of the source. Information on a general reviews site is probably far less trustworthy, for example, than is a product recommendation from your dentist. Reviews from people you actually know of a product they used are likely to be candid because of the pre-established relationship. If you do use review sites, be sure to choose ones which seem the most reputable. Also, you can look for official seals such as a seal of approval from professional dentistry associations. While not having the label doesn’t mean a product is bad, having it is an added sign that the product passed rigorous examination by professionals and was found to meet certain criteria.
Our Comparisons
After spending considerable time comparing both different products as well as brands within those products, our guide provides some general information about what was contained in the reviews currently available.
Whitening Toothpastes
The reviews of whitening toothpastes are varied. A high percentage of the negative reviews tend to come from people who expected better results than they got. It is important to remember, though, that whitening toothpaste is a weaker strength choice; it only has the power to increase whitening by a shade or two at most. However, those that only needed a little bit of whitening or who didn’t expect the product to do more than it was designed for tended to leave neutral to positive reviews. Whitening toothpastes are the best option for younger people who tend to have more natural whiteness to the teeth and respond quickly to minimal stain treatment or for people who have only minimal whitening needs.
Over-the-Counter Strips & Gel Trays
These are the stripes or trays you can use at home and get without a prescription. While reviews were largely much more favourable than those about whitening toothpastes, people still hoped for more than the product could provide. These products may be a good starting point for someone who isn’t sure about the price of other whitening treatments and who is willing to use the system for a long period of time in order to achieve the maximum potential results.
At Home Prescription Kits
Reviews for the quality of whitening by these kits is very high. Most reviewers were extremely happy with the results of whitening with a professional prescription kit. The ingredients are a step more powerful from what can be obtained over-the-counter while still allowing for convenient use at home on a person’s own time and schedule. The quality of these products meant they were more comfortable to use – such as how the mouth trays aren’t just a one-size-fits-all approach. In general, these systems had very positive reviews though they turned out to be pricier than some had expected. Price was the number one complaint about this type of whitening product.
In-Office Whitening
As the best quality whitening available, the majority of reviews for in-office whitening were positive. Reviewers liked how big a difference they saw in a very quick time frame using in-office whitening and how long the results lasted. However, the prices were considered exorbitant by some reviewers, who did not feel they got what they paid for. It is important to keep in mind that teeth whitening only does so much, teeth aren’t meant to be unnaturally white. Reviewers who wanted teeth which were exceedingly white were usually the ones most unhappy with the results of their procedure.
