..A Dial-A-Smile (Whitening Lightning) Review

January 11, 2013

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So I guess this would more fall under the "previously coveted, then purchased" category but I longed to try it for so long that even though I was disappointed, I thought I should share my experience with you guys.

My rating: 2 out of 5.

Okay so I'm sure many of you have heard of this product, as it's pimped out all over the internet by bloggers and celebs alike.  Started up in the land of hotness (L.A.) much like the taco trucks we have here in DC, they apparently they have teeth whitening trucks, which is how the product started.  I of course bought into the hype and while I wasn't willing to spend the whopping $478 to try it out, when I saw it pop up on ideeli for just $69.99 I jumped on the chance.

The product claims to white your teeth 4-7 shades in just 20 minutes with no sensitivity, which sounds life changing and awesome.  Sign me up.  When my box finally arrived I excitedly matched my current shade with the nifty tooth color wheel and found that I was about a seven.  Not too bad.  I took out the magical LED light which is provided to you to set up the batteries correctly and make sure it turned on.  Nope.  No such luck.  I then go out to CVS to buy the weirdly small batteries it takes just in case that was the problem, but no.  My light just didn't work.  I reached out to customer service, which admittedly was really great (and the reason they got that extra point), the woman took down my name and told me someone would get back to me ASAP Monday morning (since it was the weekend).  To my surprise, on NYE, I already had a shipping confirmation for my new LED sitting in my mailbox.  Super.

Round two, everything is working.  I use the vitamin E to protect my gums, dry my teeth with the little finger towel thing, dispense the proper amount of gel into the little plastic jar, and start painting my teeth. The first thing I notice is there is WAY to much product in the little jar.  Probably enough for a whole second go at this, so I throw it and the syringe that holds the rest of the goop into the refrigerator (as recommended) while I popped the light in my mouth and waited the twenty minutes for the magic to happen.

To my surprise there was absolutely no sensitivity!  To my dismay, however, my teeth looked pretty much exactly the same as they did 20 minutes ago.  Boo.  I look to my tooth color wheel and my fears are confirmed.  No change. WHAT? HOW? WHY?  I must have done something wrong so I go back and reread the instructions.  It says you can do the process again right away if you wish, so I did just that.  Twenty more minutes later I check again, and like the first time, no real change, possibly half a shade lighter.

I immediately turn to the internet (obviously) and try to find a reason why it's not working on me.  I type in every possible search combination but turn up nothing.  In fact, there is not ONE single negative review of this stuff ANYWHERE, which was starting to creep me out/piss me off.  All the reviews are by people who were gifted the product, or testimonials from the Whitening Lightning site itself.  Weird.  Useless.  I give up for the night.

The next day I try it again.  Then again on the weekend. My teeth are maaaaaaaybe 1.5 shades lighter and honestly since I was also using the whitening pen at night that came in the combo kit, I can't tell you if it was from the dial-a-smile kit or the pen.

In conclusion, do not buy this product unless its on super sale somewhere because there is a chance that the results turn out like mine (lame).  The only reason I even gave it 2 stars is because they do have great customer service, if you have sensitive teeth, it really causes no irritation, and my teeth are a liiiiiittle bit whiter at the end of the day.  Maybe I'll change my tune after I use up the last two applications (maybe all the magic is in the bottom) but until then I say skip it.

43 comments

  1. I'm sorry to hear it didn't work! I've wondered about that product, too, but then a dental hygienist told me that you could basically put a white strip on and lay in a tanning bed (smiling, of course) and it's basically the same thing.

    I've been using the professional level Crest White Strips. My local community college's dental program sells them cheap to raise money for their student organization. They are AMAZING!! I think they're upwards of $60 at a dental office, but they sell them for $30 or something like that. Honestly, I would probably pay the $60 because they work so well.

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  2. I've actually never heard of this product. Now I know not to buy it! Thanks for doing the review - what a bummer it didn't work though! My go-to is Crest Whitestrips but they do make my teeth sensitive.

    Alissa
    FeelingGoodFashion.blogspot.com

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  3. What a bummer! I've only ever used Crest White Strips, but they made my teeth too sensitive. My boyfriend's sister swears by hydrogen peroxide - she just mixes it with some water and swishes, and she has pearly whites!

    xo
    Erin

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  4. I almost purchased this when I saw this the other day on sale for $49! But I figured hmm, there's got to be a reason it's on sale lol.

    Glad I didn't now, I am glad I read this review.

    xo
    Haylee
    http://www.dolledupdaily.com/

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  5. Too bad this product didn't work better.

    http://initialed.blogspot.com

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  6. I have whitening trays. You have to go to the dentist to get them but they work sooooo much better than the strips or any of that crap!

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  7. Wow, thanks for such an honest review! I'm always looking for teeth whitening stuff... even got mine whitened at a cosmetic whitening places via Groupon once, but they only stayed whiter for like a couple days. Now I'll think twice about this product!

    Jamie
    forevereightyone.blogspot.com

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  8. Thanks for the review! I've used Crest whitening strips before and provide you can keep those suckers on and your teeth aren't sensitive, they seem to work pretty well.

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  9. Awe, I'm sorry it didn't work out! I have been seeing lots of natural whiting solutions on Pinterst. So I guess I'll give that a whirl and will hopefully get results!

    Marisa
    http://brokewithdesignertaste.blogspot.com/

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  10. Thank God I found your review because I had been going back and forth for a couple of weeks. Like you I was unable to find any negative reviews (with the exception of this one and one on ripoff.com or something like that). I really appreciate you posting this because I am going to just head to Costco now and pick up the Crest Strips since I know they work. I noticed some people commented about having some sensitivity to the Crest strips.. I do too, but my dentist recommended doing them every other day instead of the instructed every day application.

    Thanks again :).

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  11. Thanks for the honest review you just saved me tons of money!I knew their % off or discount was not a good sign...

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  12. I had an identical experience, right down to there being too much product in the cup, not being able to find anything but glowing reviews online and disappointingly, minimal (if any) whitening. Extremely frustrating. Thanks for posting.

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  13. Finally a REAL review!!! I was skeptial as well seeing all these steep discount coupons!! Thank you for saving me the money!!

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  14. I almost bought a groupon for this product. Thanks for saving me money.

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  15. I almost got it too but I was wondering why they would give me 70% discount for something that cost 478 good thing I read this thank you so much

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  16. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made.

    teeth whitening aylesbury

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  17. Thank you so much for the honest review!

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  18. thank you for the review!

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  19. Whitening Lightning have said that your teeth can only be whitened to the colour they were originally when you got your adult teeth. Maybe the system was working but your teeth have always been a 6/7?

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  20. Hello,
    I would like to share my recent experience with a great new product for teeth whitening.
    I tird the booster pen and the smile a dial kit, WOW, a great results...
    I think you all would love to see the best results on yourself and moreover find out those great prices!!!
    This is the store: http://stores.ebay.com/Putza-Mall
    you will never see such good prices.
    I have check and deeper, and found that those are original FDA Approved products!

    So go and make your smile whiter!!

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  21. Thanks so much for the honest review! It kinda weirded me out that the only negative reviews were on Amazon and the product had been taken down by the company. I guess I'll just stick to the whitening strips as originally planed! :)

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  22. I have used these products and found they worked very well. Tons of great reviews out there and celebs use it all the time. She might not have done it right. Don't let this phase you - its a great product.

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  23. Oh wow the same thing happened to me & it was the worst . You always want your money's worth & maybe i should have over thought why the discount was such a deal . -__- now i know .

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  24. I had the same experience. Very disappointing. Bummer.

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  25. They a money back guarantee policy! SEND IT BACK!!

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  26. I got into their scam as well. oh how I wish I could have stumbled upon your review earlier :(. I'll treat this as a sunk cost.

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  27. I used this product for years and i can tell you that its AWESOOOME. My husband have been using it too and we hadn't any problem. Its written in the 'whitening lightning Web site that it gives you back your original teeth color. If u were born with pretty much yellow teeth this product Will definatly not work for you unless your teeth got even more yellow through the years

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  28. did not work one bit for me,everyone on youtube i saw who reviewed it had insanely white teeth, like not natural whats so ever, my teeth are still the same colour they were and ive used it 4 times now, so annoying, obviously doesnt work and the gurus are just recommending it cause they get sponsored...

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  29. I have seen a ton of good reviews and a few bad ones like this. I decided to try the product. Seems if you dont use it right it does not work well....to me drying my teeth was the hardest part. I found one review where they said to use a hair dryer on low and it worked. I also dont have as naturally white teeth as many i saw ( i wish i did) and I also eat and drink things that dont help like blueberry's, tea, coffee beets, etc. But in the end with the 20 with blue light treatment and the touch up pen i am able to keep my teeth pretty white. I get there are some who dont use it right, or got a bad batch....or might have been looking for better results then were possible....but it does work...there are lots of good reviews and many celebrities use it.......i would recommend it.

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  30. Wow i am very frustrated because the same is happening to me right now I am in my third 20 min trying it because I just can't believe that I don't have any change in color at all in my teeths

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    1. I am very , very disappointed with this product , I had high expectations about it because it has some many good reviews. I just can't believe that is not working for me! Thanks God I found your review because I was doing the same that you did looking online to see why is not working for me! :(

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  31. Hey , i made the same mistake and bought it.
    EXACTLY THE SAME STORY . It didn't work for me either and i thought that i am doing something wrong but still no result...IT MADE MY TEETH SENSITIVE and i really regret that i bought this useless product:/ Wish i had my money back but i bought it on ebay..
    Xo Victoria

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  32. haha I had the same story. I am about to try my second round with it.

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  33. Thanks for the blog as I saw the product listed in a trade magazine for effective advertising. Sounds like that's all they have going for them is effective advertising through paid sponsors on instagram and facebook.

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    1. Here's the article:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/07/07/why-those-teeth-whitening-online-ads-are-here-to-stay/

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  34. Take tips How Do Celebrities Whiten Their Teeth ?
    a-soothing-dental-appointment

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  35. I can recommend whitening from Stella white, they work really well for people like me that have sensitive teeth. I haven’t had any problems with them at all.

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  36. Their customer service sucks and I had the same problem. They claim to have a money back guarantee, but don't pay for shipping charges which is almost half the cost of the product, if you get it on a discount. Don't purchase their cheap products that they claim is 400$ worth.

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  37. The result is quite surprising! A must try indeed. Honestly, I haven’t used yet any whitening kit. I seek advice from my cosmetic dentist beverly hills for any whitening products I want to purchase.

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  38. Such a great one, I enjoy and love this topic.thanks for sharing this one.Dentist Woodstock Ontario

    ReplyDelete

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