Reddit's Teeth Whitening Suggestions

Updated December 6th, 2019
Written by Reddit Suggestions

Pearly Whites. In an era where even your great grandmother may pull out her smartphone to snap a pic at any moment, teeth cleanliness and whiteness is becoming an increasingly important factor to persons of all ages. You may think years of black coffee, sweets and sugars, and lying to your dentist about flossing would have left you with zero options and irreversible damage, but fear not! Technological advancements (and some barebones classic ideas that work better than you might think) have granted everyone a second chance to have that bright, shining, Orbitz commercial smile they always wanted!

We scoured reddit and the internet to find 5 whitening methods to turn that frown upside down! We sourced hundreds of comments from real redditors just like you to come up with the pros and cons of each method, so you can be assured when you’re done reading you’ll know exactly how to tackle the issue! We hope you enjoy and are informed by this guide to the best (and worst) teeth whitening methods in 2019, with curated comments from the reddit community!

Crest White Strips

Crest White Strips Check Price on Amazon

First up is probably the most easily recognizable names in the teeth whitening business, Crest and their now long running white strips product. The nice thing about this product is while the original peel and stick whitening method works, they’ve also updated some of the versions to include the blue led light that helps weaken stains to speed up treatment.

The good part of this product is its availability. Fully over the counter and relatively cheap (we found some trial kits and more basic version on Amazon for under $20).

The bad however comes down to the product itself and it’s effectivness. We found varying results when consulting subreddits like r/RedditForGrownups, and even one comment (linked below) of someone complaining about irritation!

Pros:

Cons:

Helpful Comments and Threads:

Opalescence

Opalescence Check Price on Amazon

Next up we have the Opalescence Tooth Whitening System, a more intricate process of chasing after a brighter smile. Administered either at home, or by your dentist, these custom made trays are worn for a predetermined amount of time per day (ranging from about 15 minutes to an hour).

They also have an option to have a more powerful bleaching method using their product during a dentist visit, and aftercare products such as branded toothpastes and toothbrushes (although we have seen these can be pretty pricey!)

The plus side of this method is the custom trays fit to your mouth and smile with a lot more accuracy than a generic Crest strip, however we have read a lot of stories of people suffering from sensitivity in their gums or miscoloring by over using the product. This method is definitely more involved, but it may lead you to more consistent and permanent results!

Pros:

Cons:

Helpful Comments and Threads:

Baking Soda

Baking Soda Check Price on Amazon

Yeah, nothing special or technologically advanced about our third method. In fact, most toothpastes that advertise whitening as a key component will contain baking soda in them. Yes, you can mix in your baking soda with hydrogen peroxide to create a more toothpaste like texture and scrub away, but is it worth it?

Some say that this method of whitening is only good for very surface level and external staining, while others swear by this method as a very, very cost effective method. Our verdict? Maybe mix this in occasionally with your other primary method and see if it’s for you.

Some comments on reddit pointed out the potentially hazardous results from scrubbing too hard and using baking soda too consistently. The abrasive texture can potentially wear away at your gum tissue and enamel, leading to more problems than you started with!

Pros:

Cons:

Helpful Comments and Threads:

Soniccare

Soniccare Check Price on Amazon

Second to last we have the Soniccare toothbrush which is a line of electronic brushes under the Phillips brand. The tech savvy brush features personalized coaching, smart head sensors, and an accompanying app that helps you personalize your teeth cleaning goals. Whether it be remove plaque or simply brighten up your smile, the Soniccare toothbrush can help guarantee you the best cleaning around.

The good part? A few redditors pointed out that this smart brush stands out among its peers. Most people felt the clean was more consistent and didn’t affect sensitive teeth as much. The bad part? This won't really whiten your smile in a giffy.

The Soniccare line of toothbrushes may be the best option to help you lock in positive brushing techniques and routines, but it wont have that fast and hard hitting effect you may be looking for on your stained and damaged teeth. We still recommend it though!

Pros:

Cons:

Helpful Comments and Threads:

Professional Bleaching

Professional Bleaching

Last but not least we have maybe the most reliable and consistent method on our list, a professional teeth bleaching by your dentist. This can normally be done during a routine cleaning if you ask for it ahead of time, but otherwise will cost you another trip besides your semi-annual check up.

Like we mentioned in the cons, this method can be PRICEY! Some redditors mentioned a fee of $500 and up when it came to having this done. Others mentioned that for those with sensitive teeth, the high dosage of chemicals used to bleach your teeth in one sitting can cause brutal tooth and gum pain.

That being said, this method may still be the most convenient and reliable. Your dentist knows more about whitening your teeth than you, and you may want to leave the heavy lifting of brightening your smile to the professionals. All bleaching is somewhat temporary however, so you will need to use this method more than once.

Pros:

Cons:

Helpful Comments and Threads:

Reddit Reddit Teeth Whitening Recap

There you have it! 5 distinct methods to try and turn around years of oral mistreatment in a short span of time! Whether you decide the ol’ reliable with baking soda, or to have custom Opalescence trays built to fit your mouth, don’t forget the most important part in all of this is to learn, develop, and practice good brushing and floss methods!

While we hope you found our guide informative, we do 100% recommend you diving into more research and consulting a dentist professional before making any drastic decision regarding your teeth. A lot of the comments we found across reddit and the internet as a whole were people who reacted badly to different methods because of gum and tooth sensitivity. So it is best to know your mouth and how it works, and consult with your dentist to see what they recommend.

Scroll up
Similar Articles