At Home Teeth Whitening: Does it Work?

My oldest kid is vain. Honestly, I feel like his aunt Jessica left quite a bit of her spirit with him when she passed away so long ago, and that vanity portion was amped up quite a bit. I remember her senior year of college she had an entire whiteboard with all of the things that she wanted to accessorize her look with, and teeth whitening was on there. Guess who copied that whiteboard almost point for point? My kid. We’ve partnered with Smile Brilliant to bring you this review, and to tell you that I’m already ordering my own kit. 

He wanted to whiten his teeth for prom and graduation, and we decided to try Smile Brilliant to accomplish that. And I was interested in knowing if at home teeth whitening really worked. 

Smile Brilliant is an at home teeth whitening system that has a recommended usage of 7-14 applications for results. Nathaniel used it for his time before prom and graduation, and we’re pretty happy with the results. We did take before pictures so you all could see the 2 week results. So read all the way to the bottom!

The steps are easy enough. You mix up a base and catalyst putty to make impressions of both your top and bottom teeth, to be sent off for custom fitted molds of your teeth. Application of the whitening gel and desensitizing gel hits every single tooth because of these molds, and they need to be done properly. The impressions that you take are sent off in a postage paid envelope, and you receive your perfect fitting tooth trays in a week or so.

After receiving your trays, preparing for your first session is easy. You brush your teeth with water only – because most toothpastes have flouride, and that slows down the whitening process. Instructions suggest that you whiten before bed since you won’t be as inclined to eat or drink anything then. We started with the suggested time of 45 minutes, and worked our way up to the full allotment because Nathaniel doesn’t have sensitive teeth like his mama.

Just a note – if you think that having an 18 year old whitening their teeth will mean that you don’t have to remind them to do it every day, or every other day, you’d be wrong. This kid is going to lean on me until the very last day, and I’m kind of okay with that. I did have to remind him to use his desensitizing gel and rinse out the trays almost every single time he used them.

We did work him up to 4 hour sessions and his teeth lightened up a shade or two. He was happy with the results, even though the smile that would prove it is as elusive as Bigfoot. It’s one of the reasons we refer to Nathaniel as the elusive teen on IG and Twitter. Because he and his smile are endangered species lately. I’m glad that this whitening kit helped bring them to the light. 

I promised you before and after photos, and here they come. I’ll also give you some teeth whitening facts to send you on your merry way. That way, when you order this kit, you’ll be fully prepared for your results.

10 Teeth Whitening Facts 

• Teeth are porous 
• Teeth whitening – when done properly – does not damage your teeth. It only temporarily opens pores to lift stains. 
• A custom fitted tray is the best delivery for proper teeth whitening. 
• Custom fitted whitening trays can cost $500+ from a dentist. 
• Sensitivity is normal after whitening 
• Laser or UV whitening is temporary
• Tooth stains can not be removed overnight
• Caps and veneers can not be whitened
• Just before bed is the best time to whiten your teeth
• Natural color of teeth is set at birth. Therefore, your teeth may never be perfectly white. 

Are any of you interested in whitening your teeth? I know I’ll be picking up a kit soon – I took a pass since the big kid was wanting to work on something of his own, but once we get him settled in the dorms, it’s on! 

Professional Teeth Whitening

That’s not all friends! I’m giving away a little something for one of YOU! You read that right. I’m giving you a credit of $149 which is more than enough to test out a system for yourself. The giveaway is open for those of you in USA, Canada, Australia and the UK! Enter at this website and good luck!