Best whitening tray: Sporting Smiles Teeth Whitening Trays
- Price: $80
- Type: tray
- Active ingredients: 22% or 35% carbamide peroxide
- How long it lasts: 6–8 months, results can vary
This teeth whitening kit uses a custom-made tray and foaming whitening gel. A person must take impressions of their teeth using the dental putty and impression trays included in the kit and send the impressions back to the company.
Sporting Smiles will then make custom whitening trays from the impressions and ship them to the customer. The customer can then use the trays and foaming gel to whiten their teeth.
The gel can remove stains from coffee, tea, wine, and tobacco. Sporting Smiles says a foaming gel will bubble and access typically hard-to-reach areas of the teeth.
While some people found the kit affordable, easy to use, and efficient, other buyers found it hard to make accurate impressions. Many customers report long waiting times for their custom trays to arrive.
Pros
- trays are custom-made
- trays reportedly protect gums from irritation
- foaming gel can access small cracks and gaps in teeth
- may remove common stains from coffee, tea, wine, or tobacco
- trays can last for years
Cons
- the company does not supply a lot of spare putty
- there is a relatively high risk of user error
- can take 2 weeks to produce results
- some buyers report waiting 5 weeks for their custom trays
- carbamide peroxide can cause tooth sensitivity and gum irritation
Best bleaching toothpaste: Colgate Optic White Renewal Teeth Whitening Toothpaste
- Price: around $13.35 for a pack of two
- Type: toothpaste
- Active ingredients: hydrogen peroxide
- How long it lasts: provides ongoing whitening
This toothpaste uses a bleaching ingredient instead of abrasion to whiten teeth. The main ingredient in this toothpaste is 3% hydrogen peroxide. The manufacturer states that this dentist-recommended concentration removes stains without damaging enamel.
Colgate claims it can make teeth 10 times whiter than fluoride toothpaste without hydrogen peroxide.
Learn more about the risks of hydrogen peroxide for teeth.
Some buyers found the toothpaste whitened their teeth quickly, but others did not notice improvements.
Pros
- some users said it worked very quickly
- Colgate claims it does not damage enamel
- may significantly whiten teeth
- company claims hydrogen peroxide is dentist-recommended
Cons
- some buyers report it did not whiten teeth
- no information on how long effects last
- hydrogen peroxide may irritate gums and increase sensitivity
