The 9 Best Teeth Whitening Products of 2024—From Strips to LED Lights

Best Overall

Crest 3D White Whitestrips with Light

$56 at Amazon $65 at Target $77 at Walmart

Type: Strips, light | Session Duration: 70 minutes | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide

Crest is a household name in the at-home whitening world, but this latest innovation is a game-changer. The beloved strips the brand is known for are laced with whitening agents hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide. Then their effect is amped up with blue light technology to provide noticeable results lasting up to 36 months. You wear the strips for 10 days, every day for an hour, then hold up the light device to the strips for another 10 minutes (five minutes each on the top and bottom). The light is the same technology found in dentist’s offices—helps the hydrogen peroxide in the strips better penetrate the tooth enamel ultimately removing yellow surface stains.

And yes, it really works. We began to see a brightening effect by day five. By day 10, our smile was noticeably a few shades lighter, while any bothersome stains had faded significantly.

Best Overall, Runner-Up

Crest 3DWhitestrips Glamorous White

$40 at Target View on Crest.com $40 at Walgreens

Type: Strips | Session Duration: 30 minutes | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide

You really can’t go wrong with these easy-to-use strips. They have the American Dental Association's (ADA) seal of approval, which was granted in 2017. It's actually the first product to earn the ADA seal in the Home-Use Tooth Bleaching Products category. The strips promise to remove up to 10 years' of stains and yellowing (that's a lot of coffee!).

This variety features extra grip to ensure they stay in place, which we really appreciated during testing. We also never experienced any sensitivity or discomfort (although that may not be the case for everyone). Dr. Marashi is a fan, lauding the affordable price and the good results they deliver. Still, he does note that compliance with any at-home product is usually the main issue, so you’ll need to use these every day (for the entire duration of the two-week treatment cycle) to see the best results.

Read Full Review: These Teeth Whitening Strips Left My Smile So Bright

Best Kit

GLO Science Teeth Whitening Device

$199 at Amazon

Type: Gel, light | Session Duration: 8 minutes | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium nitrate, sodium fluoride

This is pretty much the closest you can get to a pro-style treatment at home, hence the high price. You start by applying the protective lip balm, then brush a thin layer of the whitening gel along the front of your teeth. Pop in the mouthpiece and turn it on, either manually or via the app.

The GLO technology, which stands for Guided Light Optics, uses a combination of light and heat to activate the hydrogen peroxide-based gel so you get whiter teeth fast. Something worth noting: The device shuts off after eight minutes, but you have to repeat the process twice more after that. After doing three cycles for seven days in a row, you should start seeing results. We saw fairly subtle changes at the 10-day mark, but our teeth continued to get even brighter after the fact. If you don’t mind a little bit of a lengthier process because you're getting a professional-grade experience, definitely check out this buy.

Read Full Review: GLO Science's GLO Brilliant Teeth Whitening Device Gave Me a Brighter Smile in 10 Days

Best Kit, Runner-Up

Snow Teeth Whitening Kit With LED Light

$79 at Amazon $70 at Target $69 at Macy's

Type: Gel, light | Session Duration: 9 to 30 minutes | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, potassium nitrate

This is Dr. Marashi’s pick for a full-on system including LED teeth whitening abilities. “It combines a special wavelength of light delivered via the mouthpiece with the whitening gel. The light activates the gel effectively breaking down the dark colors staining your teeth,” he explains. It’s a fan-favorite on Amazon, too, repeatedly pulling in positive reviews with customers commenting on how well it works.

Each kit comes with three wands of Snow's whitening gel as well as an extra-strength version in addition to the LED mouthpiece. We love that it's safe for those with sensitive teeth, braces, bridges, caps, crowns, and veneers. It didn’t trigger any sensitivity or pain (or bad aftertaste for us in the least) when we tried it, and it did brighten our smile. 

Best For Sensitive Teeth

Crest 3D Sensitive Teeth Whitening Kit

$32 at Target

Type: Gel | Session Duration: 30 minutes a day, for 14 days | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide

Looking to whiten and brighten your smile but worried your teeth are too sensitive for a tooth-whitening product? Fear not; this teeth whitening system has a non-sensitizing gel formulated with hydrogen peroxide that won’t hurt your teeth or gums but still works super effectively. In fact, some results are noticeable in as little as one day. Commit to using these for just two weeks to score much whiter teeth. Just snap open each individual pack and apply to the fronts of teeth post-brushing for 30 minutes for 14 days.

Best for Aligners

Byte BrightByte

View on Byteme.com

Type: Gel, trays | Session Duration: Dependent on tray use | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen Peroxide

If you’re currently rocking Invisalign or any other type of clear, corrective aligners, this pick is for you. It delivers a one-two whitening and cleaning punch. “The foam keeps your aligners clean while whitening your smile simultaneously, so you get both straighter and whiter teeth at the same time,” says Dr. Marashi, who’s a fan. Oh, and did we also mention that it freshens your breath, too?

All you need to do is squeeze one pump of this foam into your aligner or retainer trays, making sure it’s spread all over evenly. Then, pop them on, and voilà! Let the whitening, cleaning, and straightening commence!

Best Toothbrush

Foreo Issa 3

$189 at Amazon View on Foreo.com

Type: Toothbrush | Duration: 2 minutes | Key Ingredients: Silicone and polymer bristles

Okay, so a toothbrush alone isn’t going to whiten your teeth, but this one can help you achieve your goal of pearly whites faster (especially when paired with a good whitening toothpaste.) We were big fans of the brushing experience—it left our teeth feeling legit fresher and cleaner than other toothbrushes we've used in the past. It’s a sonic toothbrush, and the first of its kind to combine silicone and polymer bristles to help more thoroughly break down plaque. It also has a built-in tongue and cheek cleaner, plus all kinds of other cool bells and whistles, such as 16 different adjustable settings.

Best Toothpaste

Sensodyne Pronamel Gentle Whitening Toothpaste

$18 at Amazon $6 at Target $13 at Walmart

Type: Toothpaste | Key Ingredients: Potassium nitrate, Sodium fluoride, Hydrated silica | Duration: Two minutes, twice daily

Using a good whitening toothpaste is key to maintaining the whitening results you get from the products above or professional in-office treatments. We love this one by Sensodyne because it does all the things you want a whitening toothpaste to do—it cleans, protects and strengthens enamel, and removes surface stains—all while remaining gentle on your teeth. The longer you use it, the better the results. After testing, we definitely noticed brighter teeth, but that whitening didn't last. That's to be expected, though, if you discontinue using a whitening toothpaste. We didn't love the taste on this one (it's pretty intense), but aside from that, we experience zero discomfort or sensitivity to our teeth or gums.

Best Fast-Acting

Crest 3DWhitestrips 1-Hour Express

View on Crest.com $56 at CVS $50 at Walgreens

Type: Strips | Session Duration: 1 hour for 7 days | Key Ingredients: Hydrogen peroxide

A professional, in-office whitening treatment is undoubtedly the best way to get the fastest whitening results. That said, this at-home option is no slowpoke. When used as directed (i.e., worn for one hour a day for seven days), the brand claims it can remove up to 10 years of stains. Sure enough, they lightened our teeth by an impressive six shades, so much so that people were commenting about how good they looked. We definitely think you should try this product if you're looking for quick results, as long as you don’t mind wearing strips for one hour per day and can handle a bit of sensitivity.

Best Pen

VieBeauti Teeth Whitening Pen

$31 at Walmart View on Viebeauti.com

Type: Gel | Session Duration: As long as it stays on | Key Ingredients: Carbamide peroxide

For those looking for a simple, easy option that can be used pretty much anytime, anywhere this portable pen can’t be beat. All you have to do is brush the whitening gel onto each tooth—that’s it. We love how its flexible brush tip can get inside the crevices between your teeth, making eliminating tough coffee stains a breeze. It's also rinse-free, so you don't even need to use it over a sink. And since it relies on carbamide peroxide instead of hydrogen peroxide, it is less likely to trigger sensitivity.

Our teeth got about four shades whiter after just one week of testing, but we did use it twice daily. It caused some tooth sensitivity, so you may want to cut down on how often you use it.