Which Teeth Whitening Products Work Best?

Everyone wants to have a beautiful, white smile. It’s a sign of good health, and a great way to make a positive first impression in virtually all social situations. But if you can’t get out of bed in the morning without your coffee, or you heed your doctor’s advice and wind down at night with a glass or two of red wine, your teeth might not be as white as you’d like them to be.

That’s why teeth whitening products are a popular part of most people’s beauty regimen. But which teeth whitening methods are the most effective? Which ones will give you the most potent whitening power for your money? We’ll give you the basic rundown of the most popular teeth whitening products, as well as any pros and cons you should be aware of before you invest in a particular treatment.

Teeth Whitening Products from Your Dentist

When you see an actor on television with an impossibly white smile, the odds are pretty good that they achieved that level of whiteness from their dentist. Professional teeth whitening products bought from or administered by a dentist are often the most effective form of treatment for anyone who wants to remove stains and change the color of their chompers. Another good thing about whitening your teeth through a dentist is that you won’t have to wait as long to see results. You can improve your smile by anywhere from 3-14 shades with a single, 60-minute treatment at the dentist’s office, or you can purchase an at-home kit for half the price of an in-house session.

However, there are some serious downsides to purchasing teeth whitening products through your dentist. The biggest disadvantage is cost. If you’re trying to improve your smile on a budget, this probably isn’t the way to go. Each session can cost up to $1,000 for an effective treatment, and depending on how stained your teeth are, you may need more than one. Even a kit for home use can run upwards of $500.

And because these products are professional strength, the ingredients are more likely to cause severe tooth and gum sensitivity. Although they say “beauty is pain”, there are products out there which will give you similar results without all the suffering. Unless you are working with a limited time frame, you might not want to put yourself through needless suffering.

Teeth Whitening Products from the Store

There are a variety of different strips and gels which claim to whiten your teeth, and many of them promise results after the first use. So many companies have jumped onto this beauty bandwagon that it can be hard to discover which of these teeth whitening products are the real deal, and which ones are a messy waste of time and money.

Strips offer convenience and less mess than other drug store formulas. They come pre-coated with the whitening formula, usually adhere well to your teeth, and can effectively lighten your pearly whites by 3-4 shades in a week or two. But the higher-end strips can cost up to $80 or more, and many users complain of mild to moderate tooth sensitivity after a few days.

Some teeth whitening products come in a tube of gel with a tray or a set of trays for your upper and lower teeth. Users are instructed to apply a small amount of gel into the tray(s) and then apply the tray(s) to your teeth for a specific amount of time. The biggest complaint when it comes to these products are the one-size-fits-all trays that most of them come with; they often don’t fit, and can be messy to wear. If you decide to go with a gel + tray combo, make sure you find a kit with trays that can be molded to your teeth for optimum comfort and effectiveness.

There are also gels that claim they can whiten your teeth without needing to be held in place by a tray or a strip. But don’t be fooled by the promise of convenience; if the product is effective, it may do damage to adjacent gums and the inside of your cheeks. Many users also complain about the taste of the gel.

Choosing Between the Best Teeth Whitening Products

When it comes to your teeth, your smile is front and center. A less than lustrous smile is the first thing people will notice about you. You have to consider how much time and money you are willing to spend on a teeth whitening product in order to get the most effective results. If you aren’t ready to shell out the big bucks for a dentist treatment, stop by our product review chart where we evaluate the top 10 teeth whitening products available today.

You might be surprised by which teeth whitening products come out on top. Click here to learn more!