How To Whiten Your Teeth At Home

*Note: This post was originally written on Feb 13, 2011 on my old blog (loveformakeup.com). I am transferring the content here. 

I have been getting many questions on YouTube regarding how I whiten my teeth. I figured since it�s such a FAQ, I will write a post about how I whiten my teeth.

Disclaimer: You should always consult your dentist before trying any new products on your teeth�especially if they are sensitive.  I am sharing my personal experience with teeth whitening solely for your reference.

Just FYI: I only whiten my upper row of teeth. I have never whitened the bottom row of teeth simply because I have a huge overbite and when I smile, very little bottom teeth can be seen. It saves me money not whitening the bottom row of teeth!

I buy my white strips on sale from drugstores like Rite Aid and CVS and they are usually around $30; however, they're sold for far cheaper on sites like Amazon.

My Teeth Whitening Personal History:
I first started whitening my teeth a little over 2 years ago using Crest White Strips.
I used the Crest Whitestrips Classic:

I was compliant in using the strips the first time around. I used the strips as directed: 2 strips a day (30 min. each strip) for 14 days.  I remember noticing a brightening/whitening of my teeth after just 5 days (just as the packaging claims). After a week my teeth where very white, but I continued with the 14 day course. I was very happy with the results and other people noticed my whiter teeth as well.

My teeth stayed white for a long time (probably about a year); but I do drink a lot of coffee and tea. So after some time I felt my teeth were less bright, so I used more strips to use.  I would consider this �touch up whitening�.

For touch-up whitening, I do not use the strips for the full course. I kind of got lazy and only used 1 or 2 strips for 3-5 days every so often (every 3-6 months). I found that this still works.
I bought the Crest 3D White Whitestrip Vivid because it was on sale. I honestly didn�t see any difference between the Vivid and the Classic kind.

These are pretty easy to apply; just follow the directions :]

Tips on applying the white strips:* Press the strips tightly to your teeth. Make sure there are no air spaces. This helps prevent the strips from slipping off prematurely.

* Do not have the strip touch your gums. I know these strips may be too big for some people�s teeth, but if you are going to have any part of the strip touching anything other than your teeth, have it touch the hard palette. I find the gums are more sensitive.

* Wipe any excess �gel� away.  When you press the strips tightly to your teeth, some of the whitening �gel� may squeeze out. This stuff makes you salivate and that will cause the strip to fall off. So just gently wipe the excess gel away with your finger.

Here is a photo of my teeth. Like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I have only whitened my upper row of teeth and have never whitened the bottom. You can tell the bottom is not as bright.

My �natural� smile doesn�t reveal any of my bottom teeth anyway:

Happy Teeth Whitening!