Whenever someone asks me what the best beauty treatment is, I without fail always say investing in my teeth. Getting Invisalign and regular whitening is the best investment I have made in my face and in my confidence. While Invisalign was great and corrected the work that my Year 9 braces should have done, I would say that keeping up with whitening has made my smile wider and gotten me the most compliments. "Your teeth are so white" is up there with the best compliments I could get and validating because I do spend time an money on it.
I don't have fake paper-white, gleaming teeth, caps or veneers, I have standard teeth that look naturally white, which is how I prefer it.
If that's what you're after, here's how each type of whitening that I've tried works, plus what I actually rate for whitening...
What types of teeth whitening are there?
Nowadays, there are so many options from the cheap to a real investment, at-home to in-clinic.
Whitening toothpaste
This is an easy, low cost way to keep teeth looking whiter, with a habit that you do everyday, twice a day anyway. I have never found that it has drastically whitened my teeth but it has maintained the look after I've had them professionally whitened is of course the cheapest option.
Everyone's clicking on...
LED devices
These LED devices alone do not whiten your teeth, it's the combo of the LED and the whitening gels that works. The LED devices will speed up the bleaching action of the whitening gels but do not whiten alone. The average price for these are around £50 but you can them for as little as £20.
Teeth strips
I first became aware of teeth whitening strips visiting the US as a teenager and soon began bringing Crest White Strips (which still aren't retailed in the UK) home to the UK every trip. Now, there are a bunch of whitening strips on the market that gently lighten stains and whiten teeth but none that are available over the counter will include strong whitening agents like peroxide.
At-home trays
I have done dentist bought at-home whitening multiple times. It involves having moulds fitted to your gums to make a custom tray and strong whitening gels are given to apply to the trays before you slot them onto your teeth at bedtime. Price varies at different dentists regionally.
In-clinic whitening
This is similar to the at-home LED devices but bigger and done under dentist supervision. The gels they use is stronger than ones you can buy in kits over the counter and you get a more immediate whitening effect after the 1-2 hour treatment.
What is the best type of teeth whitening?
Whitening via a dentist has always worked best, lasted the longest and given me the most evenly-white smile. Whether it's whitening in the dentist chair or getting at-home whitening through them, dentist whitening has always been the whitest finish.
"The at-home teeth whitening works using a lower percentage of whitening gel with customised trays over longer period of time to give a more slow but stable result - usually over 3-5 weeks," says Dr Jenni Rawes, dentist at Ten Dental. "In-surgery teeth whitening is used when someone is short of time and requires white teeth usually within less than 24-48 hours for a social event. It utilises higher concentration of gels along with a strong light that gives an instant boost to the shade."
Can whitening damage teeth?
Whitening doesn't damage teeth but when stronger whitening agents like hydrogen peroxide are used it can cause the teeth to become sensitised. "Routine teeth whitening is safe," assures Dr Rawes, "transient sensitivity is the only mild side effect seen rarely but easily managed with de-sensitising toothpastes before, during and after teeth whitening."
Is teeth whitening worth the cost?
In my opinion yes. Dr Rawes recommends topping up in-clinic or dentist-bought whitening every 3-6 months, but I happily go a year without it and I don't see a drastic change. I use sensitive whitening toothpaste in between and it helps top things up. At TEN Dental whitening starts from £350 which is about the average in London. It is an investment, but one I think is worth it for me to smile happily each day not feeling self-conscious about my teeth.
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
