Teeth Whitening Review

Introduction to Teeth Whitening

Experts agree that some tooth-whitening products can produce dramatic results. The vast majority agree that in-office teeth-whitening by your dentist works best, but opinions vary widely on whether over-the-counter strips, pastes, chewing gum, trays and paint-on liquids really work. To learn more, we turned to dental experts from the American Dental Association (ADA) and the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). In particular, the 2007 IADR convention saw the presentation of seven research studies comparing teeth-whitening products. Unfortunately, many of these studies are sponsored by manufacturers. We found less formal (but possibly more objective) testing at The Wall Street Journal, where editors compare five tooth-whitening products.

User evaluations of teeth-whitening products at Drugstore.com and Amazon.com are also valuable. While individuals can't scientifically measure the whiteness of their teeth, they are certainly knowledgeable about which products are uncomfortable, messy or downright painful. Consumer Reports has not covered this topic since 2004 and most of the products tested in that report are no longer available. A 2008 report on health in Consumer Reports, however, discusses several treatments available at the dentist's office, including teeth whitening, but does not rate or compare the efficacy of products.

In addition, we find many websites that portray themselves as unbiased review sites for tooth-whitening products but, in fact, have very little substantive information and no testing details. We don't even know who is writing these "reviews," since authors and experts are not identified. We tried to contact TeethWhiteningReview.com and Teeth-Whitening-Guide.com, but did not receive a reply from either site. We'd take sites like these more seriously if they recommended or criticized products based on comparative testing, or at least identified the authors. Nevertheless, with just a list of unsupported "top-rated" teeth-whiteners, these sites are of little or no value in trying to identify the most effective teeth whitening products. Note that a similar-sounding site, TeethWhiteningReviews.com, does post legitimate user reviews.

Celebrity Sexy Teeth (*Est. $100 / 90-day supply), an over-the-counter tooth whitener sold on the Internet, has garnered a lot of hype recently. The manufacturer's website claims that Celebrity Sexy Teeth is less messy and stronger than most at-home whiteners and promises to lighten teeth by eight shades in just 14 days. Consumers posting to TeethWhiteningReviews.com, however, are sorely disappointed by Celebrity Sexy Teeth. Reviewers are frustrated by the complicated instructions that are printed on the product and say that they are very hard to read. Over 200 consumers review Celebrity Sexy Teeth at this site, and an overwhelming majority of them say that the product just does not work and is a waste of money.

The Celebrity Sexy Teeth website offers an easy way to order it -- but no customer service or company contact information -- no e-mail address and no phone numbers at all. A search to find out who is behind the website reveals a masked domain name -- so the people behind Celebrity Sexy Teeth pretty clearly do not want you to know who they are or where they are located.

All the reviewers and experts we find agree that professional teeth-whitening -- though expensive -- is the most effective and convenient way to brighten your smile. The ADA recommends these methods as well, saying it's preferable to have any tooth-whitening process supervised by a dentist. There are a couple of different options if you choose this route and your dentist can help you choose the one that's right for you. Aside from professional whitening, over-the-counter teeth whitening products sometimes work and sometimes don't, or they work for some people and not for others.