I was voted best smile senior year of high school – and biggest flirt but that’s not really relevant here. I think the only person that may have a bigger smile than me is my husband (top on my must-have list when dating). I get asked all the time how I keep my teeth so white and to be honest, I’ve never thought of them as being that white. I was talking to my dentist years ago about investing in the whitening trays and he pulled out a shade guide to try to convince me I didn’t need to spend the money as I was already on the lighter side. He got his point across, but I still bought the trays. When I have a tan or a lipstick on with blue undertones I am always surprised by how much whiter they look, but for the drab winter months when I’m pale and holed up inside with red wine and coffee I start looking for a whitening solution.

I’ve tried it ALL and while some work better than others, the best was when I made the investment in the custom-fitted dental grade trays. Unfortunately, I lost them somewhere along the way because I can never seem to keep track of my things, so I was thrilled to give Smile Brilliant a try when they reached out to partner on this post. It’s the same quality dental grade custom-fitted trays for 70% less than what I paid through my dentist’s office. I’ve been known to screw up many DIY projects so I was pretty proud of myself when I nailed the at home mold making process. I didn’t even have to ask my mom for help. It’s like I’m growing up or something.

If you’re already sold, keep scrolling to the bottom to enter to win a $149 credit or $15 off your tray kit (towittowoo15). If you’re more rationale in your purchasing decisions, I’ll cut right to the uncomfortable close-up before and after pictures….

— AFTER —

TA-DA! It works! You can read more about the science behind it here. For maximum results, they recommend you whiten right before bed because this eliminates the opportunity for faster staining and allows your teeth to naturally rehydrate and remineralize while you sleep. And of course consistency plays a critical role as well. I’ll be honest in that I struggled with this at first. By the time I was getting ready for bed and remembered to whiten, I didn’t want to stay up for another hour with the trays on so I kept putting it off. Eventually I thought to move the supplies to the boy’s bathroom next to their toothbrushes so that I would remember to do it while we were starting the dreaded bedtime routine. This solved the consistency piece and actually curbed my bad habit of late night snacking. I got whiter teeth and lost a few lbs in the process – oh hey!

Steps For Whitening As Recommended By The Experts: 

• Brush your teeth without toothpaste: The fluoride in toothpaste will slow the whitening process.
• Whiten: Whiten your teeth for 45 minutes to 3 hours (depending on sensitivity and dentist recommendation).
• Brush teeth normally: Brush your teeth with toothpaste as normal.
• Use the desensitizing gel: Use your freshly cleaned and dried whitening tray to apply desensitizing gel for 15-20 minutes. Remove the trays and discard excess desensitizing gel. Do not rinse! This will leave a thin layer of desensitizing gel on the teeth.
• Sleep! Do not eat or drink before bed. Sleep and let your teeth rehydrate and remineralize.

Other Helpful Links: 

• 10 Facts About Teeth Whitening
• Benefits of At Home Teeth Whitening Systems
• How To Avoid Tooth Sensitivity

How to Order:

• GIVEAWAY: Enter your name and email address on this form to be entered in a drawing for a $149 credit towards your purchase. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email. Contest ends May 15th, 2018. 
• DISCOUNT: If you are anxious to get started, you can purchase your tray kit here and enter towittowoo15 at checkout for $15 off of a tray kit.

There you have it, Friends! Feel free to leave a comment or send me a note if you have specific questions about my experience. Overall it was super positive or I wouldn’t be talking about it. Special thanks to Smile Brilliant for reaching out to partner on this post! As always, all opinions shared are my own.

Cheers to a brighter smile!

Amy

*Photos taken by my talented friend Amy Hughes Photography.