When you think of self-care, applying a hair mask or giving yourself a pedicure might come to mind. But brightening your smile is another easy treatment you can do at home for a quick pick-me-up. The best teeth whitening kits are easy to use and give you results fast. Plus, getting an over-the-counter treatment instead of visiting the dentist will save you major dollars. Whether you’re trying to lighten coffee stains or looking for something to maintain your pearly whites, we’ve got you covered with dentist-approved picks below.
Our top picks
- Best Overall: Crest 3D Whitestrips Glamorous White, $40
- Best LED Device: Colgate Optic White ComfortFit Teeth Whitening Kit, $50
- Best Whitening Gel: Crest Daily Whitening Serum, $33
- Best Whitening Trays: Burst Oral Care Teeth Whitening Trays, $24
- Best Whitening Pen: Colgate Optic White Overnight Pen, $20
In this article
Shop the best teeth whitening kits
Get ready for your close-up.
Best Overall: Crest 3D Whitestrips Glamorous White
Crest 3D Whitestrips are a classic that many SELF editors stand by. They’re the gold standard, and it makes sense: They’re easy to use and effective—they even have the American Dental Association’s (ADA) seal of acceptance. Each strip is coated with hydrogen peroxide, which penetrates deep into the enamel to lighten teeth, Alice Boghosian, a dentist and spokesperson for the ADA, tells SELF.
I’ve been using them off and on since college, and I swear my teeth look whiter after just one 45-minute session. They’re such an easy way to achieve and maintain my bright smile. While my gums can be sensitive, I’ve never had any issues after using these strips—if that’s a concern for you, try the sensitive version.
Active ingredient: Hydrogen peroxide | Number of treatments included: 16 | Directions: Apply one treatment daily for 45 minutes over 14 days
Best LED Device: Colgate Optic White ComfortFit Teeth Whitening Kit
Colgate
Optic White ComfortFit Teeth Whitening Kit
It seems like there’s a light therapy device for everything these days—your teeth included. This Colgate kit includes a whitening pen that you brush each tooth with before using the included LED device, which is curved to fit comfortably in your mouth. The hydrogen peroxide in the pen is the main whitening ingredient, but the 400 to 420 nanometers of violet light from the LED device can provide “a modest acceleration” to the process, Anjali Rajpal, a cosmetic dentist at Beverly Hills Dental Arts, tells SELF.
For the best results, Colgate recommends using the treatment for 10 minutes for 10 days in a row—then, you only have to use it four times a year to maintain your results.
Active ingredient: Hydrogen peroxide | Number of treatments included: N/A | Directions: Apply serum, attach LED light to smartphone, insert mouthpiece, and turn on LED light for 10 minutes. Repeat daily for 10 consecutive days
Best Whitening Gel: Crest Daily Whitening Serum
Crest
Daily Whitening Serum
If you don’t want to be bothered with strips or LED devices, you can turn to this SELF Healthy Beauty Award–winning serum. All you have to do is dab a little bit of the gel—which uses hydrogen peroxide as its main ingredient—onto the brush applicator and swipe it onto each tooth. After a half-hour, you can eat or drink—no brushing or rinsing necessary.
It’s as simple as it sounds, according to our tester. “It’s affordable, it works, it’s easy, and it’s not unpleasant to use! Truly an unobtrusive and impactful product,” they say. “My teeth were noticeably whiter after I used it twice daily for two weeks. It even made the little chip that tends to be slightly darker on my left front tooth blend in more seamlessly.”
Active ingredient: Hydrogen peroxide | Number of treatments included: N/A | Directions: Apply serum to each tooth and wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking
Best Whitening Trays: Burst Oral Care Teeth Whitening Trays
BURST Oral Care
Teeth Whitening Trays
One week of daily treatments is all you need to commit to with these whitening trays. Each tray is filled with a gel that contains a 12.5% concentration of hydrogen peroxide, which Dr. Rajpal says should give faster results. Heads up: “The higher peroxide concentration makes them effective, but it also increases the risk of gum irritation and tooth sensitivity,” she says. “Careful placement is key, and it’s important to avoid overflow and to wipe off any gel that touches the soft tissue” (a.k.a. your gums or lips). Each treatment lasts 15 minutes, and by the end of the week, you should see teeth that are up to six shades lighter.
“The packaging for this is definitely cute—and especially so for this type of product,” our Healthy Beauty Awards tester said. “I like the simplicity of it: Using the trays was straightforward and easy.”
Active ingredient: Hydrogen peroxide | Number of treatments included: 3 | Directions: Apply pre-filled trays to teeth and leave on for 15 minutes
Best Whitening Pen: Colgate Optic White Overnight Pen
Colgate
Optic White Overnight Pen
For quick touch-ups you can do anytime, anywhere, try Colgate’s whitening pen. It has a quick-drying gel formula that—like our other picks—uses hydrogen peroxide to brighten your teeth. “It’s precise, allowing you to target specific spots or edges where stains linger,” Dr. Rajpal says. “Because it forms a film, it’s important to apply a thin layer and let it dry before closing your mouth.”
Thanks to an incident in high school, one SELF tester has a single veneer that she wants to make sure the rest of her teeth match, and this little device is her must-have. “When my real teeth look slightly yellower than my little fake tooth, I use this pen to touch up any stains,” she says. “I have to make sure I don’t overuse it to keep my teeth within the same shade range as my front-and-center veneer, so I use this whitening gel pen for four days instead of the recommended week.”
Active ingredient: Hydrogen peroxide | Number of treatments included: 21 | Directions: Dry your teeth after brushing and paint the whitening gel on each tooth. Leave the gel on overnight and brush teeth in the morning
How we chose the best teeth whitening kits
All of our picks have been tested by SELF editors—some have even won Healthy Beauty Awards—or they come recommended by dentists. There are a ton of teeth whitening products out there, so we narrowed our list down to a few products that have different application styles to fit your preferences. After all, if a whitening kit is easy to use, you’re more likely to keep up with it.
What should you look for in a teeth whitening kit?
You can find teeth whitening strips, trays, gels, pens, and even LED devices. The best method varies by person. Do you want strips you can stick onto your teeth for up to an hour while you do chores around your house? Are you fine with spending a little longer to individually paint each tooth with a whitening pen? What about a treatment that sits overnight?
Read through the instructions on the products you’re considering before you buy them to make sure they’ll mesh with your routine, so you can keep up with maintaining your pearly whites.
Hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient you’ll find in over-the-counter whitening products (including all the ones on our list), Dr. Boghosian says. How does it work? “A chemical reaction occurs, causing the material to penetrate through the enamel (outer surface of the tooth) to the dentin (the next layer of the tooth), which changes it to produce a whitening effect.”
FYI: Higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can cause your teeth to become more sensitive and may irritate your lips and gums, according to our experts. So, apply these products carefully and don’t let them sit for too long.
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