Anyone who’s undergone professional teeth whitening treatments knows how expensive and time-consuming the service can be. Professional treatments typically cost over $200 and appointments can last 90 minutes or longer. Thankfully, many oral care brands offer more cost-effective, over-the-counter teeth whitening treatments you can use at home. Experts say they aren’t as strong as in-office treatments, but they can tackle minor discoloration if used correctly and consistently.
Below, I talked to two dentists about what you can expect from at-home teeth whitening treatments and how to shop for them. I also rounded up our favorite options from brands like Crest, Colgate and Burt's Bees.
SKIP AHEAD Best at-home teeth whitening products | How I picked the best teeth whiteners | Which teeth whitening product is right for you? | Why trust NBC Select?
Best teeth whitening pen$18.75$19.99
Best smartphone-enabled kit$37.26$49.99
Best rechargable LED kit$48.00$59.99
The best at-home teeth whitening products
With expert guidance in mind, I rounded up a handful of at-home teeth whitening products across types and price points. I included options with the ADA Seal of Acceptance, those NBC Select staff members have tried themselves, NBC Select Wellness Award Winners and other highly rated treatments I think you should know about.
Best teeth whitening strips and trays
Lumineux Teeth Whitening Strips
- Good for sensitive teeth
- Nothing to note at this time
If you have sensitive teeth, I recommend Lumineux’s whitening strips since they don’t contain peroxides or bleaches that can be painful for those with sensitive teeth, according to the brand. The strips are made with coconut oil, sage oil, lemon peel oil and dead sea salt, natural ingredients that help lift stains off teeth, according to Lumineux. One box contains 42 teeth whitening strips, which is enough for 21 treatments. I notice a difference in the shade of my teeth when I use these whitening strips as directed for 30 minutes a day and I frequently repurchase them.
Type: Strips | Application time: 30 minutes
Crest 3D Whitestrips Classic Vivid
- Easy to use
- No-slip grip
- ADA-approved
- May cause sensitivity
Crest 3D Whitestrips are currently the only ADA-approved whitening strips — they also won an NBC Select Wellness Award. The Classic Vivid strips come in a pack of 24, which is enough for 12 treatments. Strips are made with hydrogen peroxide and have a no-slip grip that helps them stick to teeth. Crest also offers other types of whitestrips including Brilliance White, Glamorous White and Sensitive, all of which are ADA-approved.
Type: Strips | Application time: 30 minutes
Opalescence Go Teeth Whitening Trays
- Easy to use
- Minty flavor
- Pre-filled trays
- High price point
Opalescence Go Teeth Whitening Trays — which have a 4.3-star average rating from over 1,880 reviews on Amazon — come prefilled with a minty gel that contains 10% hydrogen peroxide. The trays are single-use and flexible, allowing them to conform to your teeth and the shape of your mouth, according to the brand. Treatments last 30 to 60 minutes.
Type: Trays | Application time: 30 to 60 minutes
Best teeth whitening toothpastes
Nu Skin AP 24 Toothpaste
- Thick, smooth texture
- Good for sensitive teeth
- Contains SLS
Nu Skin’s AP 24 Toothpaste, an NBC Select Wellness Award winner, is formulated with gentle abrasives to remove surface stains from teeth and brighten their appearance, according to the brand. The fluoridated toothpaste, which comes in a 4-ounce tube, has a neutral vanilla mint flavor. It also contains sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), an ingredient found in many toothpastes that acts as a detergent for your teeth, as explained by experts in our guide to the best toothpastes. I tried Nu Skin’s toothpaste and prefer its thicker, smoother texture to most thinner, gel-like options. Plus, it doesn’t irritate my sometimes sensitive teeth.
Type: Toothpaste | Application time: 2 minutes
Burt’s Bees Whitening Toothpaste
- ADA-approved
- SLS-free
- Nothing to note at this time
This ADA-approved whitening toothpaste from Burt’s Bees is formulated with hydrated silica to help remove surface stains from teeth, according to the brand. The toothpaste has a minty flavor and comes in a 4.7-ounce tube.
Type: Toothpaste | Application time: 2 minutes
Best teeth whitening mouthwash
ACT Whitening + Anticavity Fluoride Mouthrinse
- Alcohol-free
- Dye-free
- Contains fluoride
- May cause sensitivity
ACT’s Whitening + Anticavity mouthwash uses hydrogen peroxide and fluoride to brighten your teeth and prevent cavities, while leaving out alcohol and dyes, according to the brand. The mint-flavored wash comes in a 16.9-fluid-ounce bottle and has a 4.5-star average rating from over 6,300 reviews on Amazon.
Type: Mouthwash | Application time: 2 minutes
LED teeth whitening products
Colgate Optic White ComfortFit LED Whitening Kit
- Timed treatments
- Easy to clean mouthpiece
- Smartphone required for use
This kit comes with a flexible LED whitening light that molds to the shape of your teeth, providing uniform coverage, according to the brand. It’s powered by your phone — you plug the device’s cable into an Apple or Android smartphone, and you can continue to use your phone during 10 minute treatments. The kit comes with a whitening pen filled with hydrogen peroxide gel that you brush over your teeth before using the light. Colgate recommends using the kit once a day for 10 days to see the best results. When I used the kit as directed, my teeth looked noticeably brighter.
Type: LED light | Application time: 10 minutes
Auraglow Teeth Whitening Kit with LED Accelerator Light
- Rechargeable
- Timed treatments
- Wireless
- Nothing to note at this time
If you’d rather use a rechargeable, wireless whitening light, Auraglow’s kit comes with a battery-powered tray that has built-in LED lights to help activate the included carbamide peroxide whitening gel. You squeeze the gel into the tray before placing it in your mouth and turning the device on to start a 30 minute treatment. The light — which has a 4.1-star average rating from over 44,450 reviews on Amazon — comes with a charging case and cable.
Type: LED light | Application time: 30 minutes
Best teeth whitening pens
Colgate Optic White Overnight Teeth Whitening Pen
- Overnight whitening
- Precision applicator tip
- Portable
- Nothing to note at this time
Beyond its whitening strips, Colgate offers a whitening pen filled with hydrogen peroxide gel. You use the applicator tip to brush the gel over clean teeth and leave it on overnight. Each pen can be used up to 35 times and the whitening gel is safe for those with sensitive teeth, according to the brand.
Type: Pen | Application time: Overnight
Related
How I picked the best at-home teeth whitening products
Everyone’s teeth are different, so finding a whitening treatment that works for you will likely involve some trial and error, says Dr. Ilona Casellini, the founder of and a dentist at Swiss Quality Smile in Los Angeles, California. Pay attention to how your teeth react to different products, specifically noting which ones lighten tooth color the best with the least amount of sensitivity.
While shopping for at-home teeth whitening treatments, experts recommend considering the following factors.
- Active ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide are the most common whitening agents products rely on to get rid of tooth stains, according to the ADA. These active ingredients penetrate tooth enamel and break down discoloration without softening or thinning teeth, experts say.
- Strength: Every teeth whitening product is made with a certain percentage of active ingredients, and the higher that percentage is, the stronger its whitening capabilities are. But the most powerful whitener may not be the best option for you, says Dr. Matt Messina, an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and the clinic director at Ohio State’s Upper Arlington Dentistry. If you’ve never whitened your teeth before or have a history of tooth sensitivity, he recommends starting with products that contain lower concentrations of active whitening ingredients and gradually increasing if you can tolerate it.
- Product type: At-home teeth whitening products are available as toothpastes, whitening pens, whitening trays, mouthwashes and more. Think about which you prefer and which best fits into your lifestyle. How effective at-home teeth whitening products are greatly depends on using them consistently, so choose a product you can see yourself sticking with, says Casellini.
- ADA Seal of Acceptance: The ADA Seal of Acceptance is the “gold standard” for oral care products, experts told us. When you see that seal, it means the brand submitted data and other materials to the ADA and the organization determined that the product meets specified safety and efficacy requirements. This does not mean that whitening products without the ADA Seal are ineffective — it just means brands have not submitted their products for the ADA to review.
What are the different types of teeth whitening products?
The teeth whitening treatment you choose is dependent on your preferences and your dentist's recommendations. Below, I outline different options:
- Teeth whitening pens: If you’re looking for a portable teeth whitening option that you can travel with, many brands offer pens filled with a gel formula of whitening ingredients like hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. To use a whitening pen, you brush the gel on your teeth, leave it on for the specified amount of time and repeat as directed.
- LED teeth whitening treatments: Some teeth whitening kits come with devices (kind of like mouth guards) that have built-in LED lights, which help activate the included whitening gel, experts told us. You add the whitening gel to the device or directly to your teeth, and wear it for a set amount of time. Once you own the LED light device, you can buy refills of the brand’s gel to continuously reuse it.
- Mouthwash: Like whitening toothpaste, whitening mouthwash typically has a lower concentration of whitening agents, so its impact is minimal, experts told us. With that being said, whitening mouthwash can be a good option to use after a professional whitening treatment or if you’ve never whitened your teeth at home before.
- Whitening toothpaste: Whitening toothpaste primarily relies on abrasives to help remove surface stains on teeth, according to the ADA. All toothpaste is mildly abrasive to scrub teeth clean, but whitening toothpaste typically contains ingredients that specifically target surface stains, like sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda. Whitening toothpaste is a great option to start with if you’ve never used other teeth whitening products since it typically has a lower concentration of active ingredients, experts told us. It tends to work best for surface stains and maintenance after you’ve used another form of whitening, says Messina.
- Whitening strips: Whitening strips are typically coated with a thin layer of hydrogen peroxide or another bleaching agent, and they come in kits with multiple strips for the upper and lower teeth. As directed by the brand, you use the strips for a few days in a row for a set amount of time to gradually whiten your teeth.
- Teeth whitening trays: Teeth whitening trays are similar to whitening strips — they adhere to teeth and whiten using active ingredients while you wear them. Some trays come prefilled, and others need to be filled with a whitening agent before you use them. Dental offices also sometimes make custom trays that fit the exact shape of your mouth to use with whitening gel.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Matt Messina is an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and the clinic director of Ohio State’s Upper Arlington Dentistry.
- Dr. Ilona Casellini is the founder of and a dentist at Swiss Quality Smile in Los Angeles, California.
Why trust NBC Select?
I am an associate updates editor at NBC Select who writes about dental care, including stories on electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, whitening toothpaste, kid’s toothpaste, floss and water flossers. For this article, I interviewed two experts about how to shop for at-home teeth whitening treatments and rounded up products that align with their guidance.
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