The best teeth whiteners are designed to reduce enamel staining without damaging your gums, and come in a variety of different types including teeth whitening kits, whitening strips, and whitening toothpaste. While electric toothbrushes now have whitening modes, adding in a proper teeth whitener can help reduce the more stubborn stains your toothbrush can’t lift alone. Here are several of the best teeth whitening solutions.
Crest 3D Vivid Plus
Recommended by dentists
Frequently recommended by dentists, Crest’s 3D Whitestrips are straightforward to use and guarantee great results. Simply apply two dots of the non-tasting gel to the middle of one of the supplied strips, then place that on your teeth.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Recommended by dentists
- No flavor
Cons:
- 30-minute wait time
- Multiple treatments needed for tough stains
The active ingredients work their brightening magic in 30 minutes. That is a long time to wait, but the end results are worth it. It may take several treatments to treat dark stains from smoking or drinking coffee. Included in this teeth whitening kit are 24 enamel-safe strips (for 12 individual treatments) and one tube of serum – that’s all you need for a superb smile.
Plus White 5-Minute Whitening Kit
For a speedy shine
Plus White’s rapid teeth-whitening system includes everything you need to get a brilliant smile in express time. The enamel-friendly whitening gel is made with the same hydrogen peroxide ingredient used by dentists. This sits in the mouth tray to ensures the gel is evenly applied on your teeth, including in-between those nooks and crannies.
Pros:
- Five-minute developing time
- Option to leave on longer for stains
Cons:
- Tray doesn't always fit well in the mouth
The mouth tray fits over your teeth and holds the cleaner in place for five minutes as it whitens your teeth. However, the tray isn't very flexible, so there are some users who will find that tray doesn't fit very well. This teeth whitening kit includes a stain guard rinse that is used after whitening to help prevent stains from reappearing. The results with Plus White's teeth-whitening system are apparent from the get-go and it is safe to keep on longer than five minutes to treat extra stubborn stains.
Colgate Optic White Overnight
Good for beginners
When it comes to dental excellence, Colgate is one of the world’s most trusted brands. The dispenser features a neat brush too, so you can apply the enamel-safe formula directly where you need it.
Pros:
- Vegan friendly
- Precise application
- Gluten- and sugar-free
Cons:
- Up to you to ensure even coverage
You control the amount that comes out of the whitening pen. This is great for beginners who want to start slow, but it also means it's up to your to ensure the gel is applied evenly. The whitening formula contains only four ingredients: alcohol solvent, copolymer, hydrogen peroxide, and water, making it vegan as well as gluten- and sugar-free.
Lumineux Oral Essentials Teeth Whitening Strips
Non-toxic solution
With ingredients straight from mother nature, Lumineux promises a whiter smile in just seven days. This set of teeth-whitening strips is ideal for sensitive teeth and uses non-toxic ingredients including coconut oil, lemon peel oil, and Dead Sea salt. Lumineux’s teeth whitening strips are safe to use with most porcelain, caps, crowns, and veneers.
Pros:
- All-natural ingredients
- Sugar-free
- Safe on dental work
Cons:
- Stripes don't always fit snugly
To use Lumineux, just select an upper and lower strip, remove the backing, apply to the teeth and wait 30 minutes before removing the strips. The stripes don't always adhere to your teeth, so you may need to reapply using a second strip, or use more gel for the best outcome. Because this kit don't have a tray, it's more portable to take away overnight or on vacation.
Active Wow Teeth Whitening Charcoal Powder
Go back to basics
Active Wow’s 24k White Teeth Whitening Charcoal Powder is free from chemicals, artificial flavors, and colors. The activated coconut charcoal not only whitens teeth but detoxifies the mouth to freshen breath and gently polish away stains.
Pros:
- All-natural
- Good for sensitive teeth
Cons:
- Gets messy
- Results not as quick
This economical powder can last up to 100 uses and it’s easy to use too. Simply wet your toothbrush, dip it in the powder, and gently brush your teeth for one to two minutes before rinsing thoroughly. This teeth-whitening won't be for everybody. It gets messy and you have to rinse thoroughly. Also, it isn't as fast acting as other kits in our guide, but it's ideal if you want to take you teeth-whiting regime back to basics and go chemical free.
Rembrandt 1-Week Teeth Whitening Kit
Tackle stains quickly
The Rembrandt 1-Week Whitening Kit packs two weeks' worth of treatments into half the time, giving you faster results than many other teeth whitening kits. The box contains 28 enamel-friendly hydrogen peroxide strips.
Pros:
- Comfortable to wear
- Easy to put on
Cons:
- Can't drink for 30 mins post-treatment
Rembrandt’s kit has generous strip proportions, especially for the lower teeth. Larger strips fit more comfortably and stay on better than other kits with smaller strips, with the added advantage of whitening both the front and back of your teeth. The only real drawback is you can't eat, drink, chew gum, or smoke for at least half an hour after your treatment is done.
Cali White Deluxe
No animal byproducts
Cali White prides itself not only on being vegan, but also sulfate-free, paraben-free, and certified organic. Naturally it doesn’t test on animals. Although gentle, the Cali White Deluxe Teeth Whitening Kit still offers plenty of brightening power with a 6% peroxide gel formula, which promises a significant improvement in whiteness after just a few days.
- Organic ingredients
- Vegan friendly
- A bit fiddly
- Pricey
The Cali White Deluxe Teeth Whitening Kit comes with plenty of bits and pieces including an LED light with built-in timer to boost the whitening results, two 5ml gel syringes, two mouthpiece trays, and a patented Universal Comfort Fit tray made with a safe and clean medical-grade silicone. The tray also has a gum-safe design with easy-breathe ventilation. There’s also a travel case to store the mouth trays in. With all this equipment it's hard to keep it all straight and create a quick cleaning regime, but it will come with time and practice. Also, this is one of the more expensive teeth whitening kits we evaluated.
Choosing the best teeth whitening solution
Why you can trust Top Ten Reviews Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
When choosing the best teeth whitener for you, look at the ingredients. Only a few teeth whiteners use natural ingredients, while most use the same active ingredients, such as hydrogen peroxide, that dentists use. While this is safe for most of us, doctors recommend that pregnant and breastfeeding people use teeth whiteners with natural ingredients only.
Whitening strips are applied directly to your upper and lower teeth, and some simply dissolve in your mouth once they’ve finished working. If you’re buying one of the best teeth whiteners in kit form, these come with syringes filled with whitening gel, and a UV light to speed up the whitening process.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of delicious things that can stain teeth, including coffee, tea, juices, and red wine. The good news is that with the best teeth whiteners you can quickly reduce staining at home. At-home kits are cheaper than whitening treatments at the dentist too, though the results will vary.
Why trust us
At Top Ten Reviews we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.
