Home Teeth Whitening for Coffee Addicts - Smile Brilliant

Hello everyone!
Hope you are having a great week so far, and hope it is a positive and peaceful one!
Today I wanted to share with you a review of a home teeth whitening kit that I've done and tested, with great results! I am a coffee addict, as every grad student is, and my teeth have gotten super stained. I used to drink only one cup of coffee a day but as I am in my 6th and final year, I have upped it to 2-3 cups a day...so you can only imagine the consequences on my teeth! So if your question is, does coffee stain your teeth, the answer is a big resounding YES. As a blogger and one who likes to take photos and selfies, yellow teeth can be a turn off. I was noticing my teeth were getting pretty yellow, and within the few weeks of starting the kit to when I actually started whitening, my teeth got so much more yellow, it was astounding!

I have tried other at home whitening kits, like the white strips, but my teeth and gums are always too sensitive, and I end up super uncomfortable. I did look around at the different options for teeth whitening - here are some tips for things you should know before buying a certain kit (here).

I came across the Smile Brilliant Home teeth whitening kit, and I was sent a whole kit to test out!
I was really excited to get started, mainly because it seemed to be everything that was provided at my dentist, but much more affordable and could do it in the comfort of my own home. I don't have much time to be running to dentist appointments every other day, and I can't afford the expensive treatments they offer! In addition, they say its perfect for people with sensitive teeth, since they offer a desensitizing gel with their treatment to sooth your teeth. I did do some research on their services, and found some tips and causes for tooth sensitivity, that you can read about here.

When I received the kit, it was complete with everything I needed - base and catalyst putty along with the impression trays, to create my custom whitening trays (score! its seriously like the dentist protocol!). They even had a postage prepaid envelope to send back the impressions once they hardened! The kit also came with three syringes of whitening gel and three syringes of desensitizing gel!

I first made the impressions and sent them in. It took about a week after they had received them to get them back, and I hadn't done my top impression well because when I put the tray in my mouth it kept slipping out - but the Smile Brilliant customer service was great and they sent me fresh putty and trays to redo the tray for free, and quickly!

Once I got the impressions trays sorted out, I started my whitening treatment, starting at 45 minutes because of my sensitive teeth - just to test out to see how they would react. After treating them for 45 min, I then spit out any excess gel, brushed my teeth, and washed and dried the trays. I then did the desensitizing gel treatment for 15-20 minutes. It's important to do this step, and not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes after, so you don't risk restaining your teeth - so I usually did this whitening right before bed. After the desensitizing gel treatment is over - you are done! No brushing, you want to keep a thin layer on your teeth to keep rehydrating your teeth.

 Before (top) and after (below), from Day 1 to Day 7! what a difference!

The science behind this whitening treatment is pretty simple - the whitening gel contains 22% carbamide peroxide solution (a compound that breaks down to about 8% hydrogen peroxide and urea when activated), and hydrogen peroxide is the active ingredient that bleaches and whitens your teeth. The reason carbamide peroxide is used is that it is a more stable compound and can yield better long term results, since the oxygen release takes more time and is more stable. The average tooth whitening system contains between 5-10% hydrogen peroxide, so this product falls in the right range!
The desensitizing gel contains 5% potassium nitrate and 0.15% fluoride ion. This is a common ingredient in a lot of desensitizing toothpastes, and it is thought that the potassium ions block the synapse between nerve cells, effectively lowering the amount of nerve excitation, thus reducing the pain. So basically, the peroxide solution strips the top layer of your enamel with stains, and the desensitizing gel creates a thin film on the top of your teeth to rehydrate and block the pain of sensitivity while the enamel is rehydrated with your saliva.  Pretty cool, right?

Anyway, I did the treatment for 7 days, but people have done the treatment up to 14 days to get the results they want. I definitely could have done the treatment for longer for even whiter results, but with timing I was traveling over the holidays. Each syringe has enough gel for 3-4 applications, although I managed to get more treatments with one syringe. I have 2 more syringes left so I am definitely going to repeat the whitening when needed, and just buy more whitening and desensitizing gels when I need to keep whitening my teeth! The custom teeth whitening trays are yours forever! The syringes are a great deal, so you don't have to spend a lot as you would have on the initial kit!

If you are interested in seeing the whole process, here is a video I made walking you thru the whole process and my before and afters!

My results:

Top (and left) photo is the day I made my impressions, and bottom (right) photo is the day 7 after whitening!


Since it took some time to get my impressions sorted because I had to redo the top tray, my teeth got even yellower with all the coffee I was drinking (I was really stressed out with work, paper writing and submission, ok?? haha). (Top is Day 1,  bottom is day 7!)

Overall, I got great results with the Smile Brilliant Teeth Whitening Kit and I can't wait to use it again and get my teeth even whiter.

Here's another video review if you wanted to take a look at another blogger's experience with the Smile Brilliant Whitening.

But WAIT! I want you to join in on the whitening fun, so with Smile Brilliant, we are giving away a free kit to a lucky reader!
To enter just comment below if you have ever tried at home whitening treatments along with your email address,  and also you must click the link to enter your email address, its pretty simple!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY!

You can also use the code 'phdfashionista5' to get 5% off your order too incase you can't wait for the giveaway to whiten your teeth ;)

Good luck and thanks for reading! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Have you ever tried any home whitening treatments? How did they work out for you? Would you be willing to try Smile Brilliant? Let me know in the comments below!

xo
Andrea

Professional Teeth Whitening