Crest Pro Health Rinse Complaints Mount
A small, but vocal group of former Crest Pro Health Rinse users have taken to the internet, and the court system to voice their displeasure for the product. So, what has these people so irked about Crest Pro Health Rinse? Well, apparently they experienced discoloration of their teeth and an odd numbing taste(despite being a non-alcoholic product).
Former Crest Pro Health Rinse user “Zero Stars For Me” had this to say on an Amazon.com customer review:
This garbage put dingy yellow and brown stains on my teeth, especially near the gums. A dental cleaning failed to get them off. If I had known this mouthwash could cause stains, I would never have used it in the first place. If my next dental cleaning fails to remove the yellow on my teeth, P&G may have a lawsuit on their hands. It’s to the point where I don’t want to even talk or smile. These Pro Health products should be illegal.
That’s just scratching the surface, no pun intended. Take a look at more reviews of Crest Pro Health Rinse on Amazon.com. Popular Blogger, Andy Wibbels also rang in on this issue in a post he boldly called, “Crest Pro Health Mouthwash Turning Customers Teeth Brown,” in which hundreds of Ex-Pro Health Rinse users lashed out at Proctor & Gamble(Crest’s Parent Company) and fervently denounced the product.
Many former users of Crest Pro Health Rinse want to take their case one step further - to the court system. NBC5.com reports that, “a federal lawsuit alleging fraud in a proposed class action is currently pending in Georgia.” Furthermore, the “U.S. Food and Drug administration is currently gathering more information on complaints.” This story gained national attention recently on NBC’s “Today” show.
Proctor & Gamble’s Response
As reported by NBC5.com, Dr. Robert Gerlach, conductor of clinical research on Crest Pro Health Rinse, had this to say in defense of the product:
“I want to assure you that Crest Pro-Health Rinse is safe and effective: the millions of consumers who use it every day, and the growing number of dentists who recommend it, can attest to that,” Gerlach said on the site. “We perform extensive scientific and safety testing on all of our products and their ingredients before they are marketed, and continue to monitor them once in market. Crest Pro-Health Rinse’s active ingredient has been recognized as safe and effective by an FDA advisory panel, and the label meets current FDA standards.”
The “FAQ” section of the Crest website also serves to defend the product. In it, Crest addresses the concerns of a dental hygienist that noticed staining in her patients’ teeth as a result of using Crest Pro Health Rinse this way:
Teeth discoloration could actually be one indication, in some people, that the product is working: after the rinse kills germs in your mouth, the dead germs can collect on the teeth surface and create the appearance of a brown stain.
My Thoughts
I can’t see this as any consolation for those that experienced the sort of staining that we’ve read about on Amazon.com and Andy’s Blog. In fact, it seems to minimize the emotions experienced by the affected.
If you’ll remember, back in September of 2007, I wrote a review of Crest Pro Health Rinse. This was before the can of worms was opened. I didn’t experience the brown staining myself, but as you can see by the outcry, the problem does appear to be legitimate. If it is indeed legitimate, I think Proctor & Gamble will have to take a hard look at this product and decide whether they want to be a socially responsible company or a strictly profit-motivated company.
Have you used Crest Pro Health Rinse? What were your personal results? What should be Proctor & Gamble’s response to the outcry?
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4:54 pm on May 19th, 2008
That does not sound very fair to the customers. How could they develop a product that makes people’s teeth worse.
5:46 pm on May 19th, 2008
That’s a good question. What I don’t understand is how this issue wasn’t present in clinical trials. If it was, why was it not taken seriously?
5:14 pm on June 18th, 2008
I just learned that Crest Pro Health mouthwash was what has been causing horrible brown stains on my teeth. I started a healthy diet about 2 years ago and a year ago my dental hygentist recommended Crest Pro Health Mouthwash. At the time I was eating a lot of apples and bananas. The stains started and I asked a dentist friend of mine and he thought it was the acidity from the fruits. I quit eating apples and the stains continued. Today I went for another cleaning and my hygentist mentioned she had heard about this.
Regarding some of Crest’s claims - I don’t drink any coffee or wine. My diet is low-sugar, low-salt and lots of water.
My last 2 cleanings have been rought trying to get the stains off my teeth - scaling and dental sandpaper.
What an awful product! And these are people going the extra mile to protect their teeth. No Crest products in my house anymore.
5:48 pm on June 18th, 2008
Hi Steven,
I’m sorry to hear about your horrible experience with this product. It’s amazing to me that it’s still on the market, since the “brown stain” problem is effecting what I consider to be a significant percentage of Crest Pro Health Rinse users. Time will tell if the public outcry is enough to convince Crest from pulling the product. I’m not holding my breath, however.
7:07 pm on July 15th, 2008
I have been using Pro Health for about 2 years. I went for a dental cleaning today and told the hygenist I am having more staining than usual between the teeth and at the gumline. She asked me if I am using Pro Health. I had no idea it causes staining, there is no warning at all on the bottle. I think Crest should stop selling this product ASAP or reformulate it. I think I will stop buying all of their products now.
11:25 pm on July 15th, 2008
I’m sorry to heat that Riobianca. It doesn’t surprise me that your dental hygienist or dentist was aware of the problems associated with Pro Health rinse. The problems are now well documented all over the web, yet Crest continues to stand behind their product. At this point, it appears as if they’re content to ignore the obvious staining the product has been causing. However, I know some people have attempted to set up a class action suit, but I’m not sure where that stands at the moment. In any case, it sounds like going cold turkey with the product is a good decision.
7:05 am on August 31st, 2008
I have not used the rinse, but I have experienced the same brown staining between my teeth with the Crest Pro Health toothpaste. I’ve been using the product for 3 months now. It’s extremely disconcerting that these products are still on store shelves.
11:45 am on August 31st, 2008
Aaron, thanks for the heads-up. I know that most people have been complaining about the rinse as opposed to the toothpaste, but it’s certainly conceivable that they both have issues. After all, they are part of the same product family. In the interest of verification, I would try it myself, but…I like my white teeth too much to subject them to even the possibility of brown stains!
11:43 pm on October 7th, 2008
OMG!!! I have been using both products for about a year and I have brown stains betwen my teeth and I just when to the dentist two weeks ago and he did not say anything about cavities. He told me that everything was fine and I was really worry about because I do not have dental insurance and I have to pay a lot for a cleaning. I just brushed my teeth with crest pro health and mouthwash and I feel so bad!!!
11:46 pm on October 7th, 2008
what can use to take the stains out?
10:54 am on October 10th, 2008
I saw my dentist today and learned that Crest Pro Health Rinse was the cause of my problems too. I had really bad stains and never could have guessed that it was my mouthwash that was to blame! I changed my coffee drinking habits, new toothbrush, filtered water, etc. and even increased my use of the mouthwash to try and fight it! Well, I’m pretty angry that I went through all that hassle (and embarrassment) while Crest knows it’s a problem and still sells it. I’m just glad my dentist had a clue!
5:21 pm on October 10th, 2008
Steve, I’m sorry to hear about your bad experiences with this product. I’m hearing stories about Crest Pro Health Rinse causing brown staining almost every day. Luckily, as you experienced, dentists are becoming acutely aware of the issues this rinse has caused their patients, and are recommending alternatives. I’ll be curious to see if Crest decides to be responsible and yank this product off the market. Time will tell.
1:32 pm on October 14th, 2008
I’ve been using Pro-Health toothpaste for about a month now and have had nothing but amazing changes in my teeth. I used to have a problem with staining because of teeth being too close together and this toothpaste has taken away all the stains that I had. I wondering if there is a time delay in any of this though. I guess I’m going to keep watch because nothing has cleaned my teeth like this toothpaste.
9:56 pm on October 15th, 2008
Thanks for the feedback. I know the Crest Pro-Health products have been causing a lot of problems for a lot of people, so it’s certainly good to hear it’s working for someone.
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