The best teeth whitening kits in 2024

Teeth whitening kits aren’t exactly what most people would call immersive. But I have to say that I was blown away by the whole process and SmileBrilliant package. I didn’t know you could get custom whitening trays anywhere but the dentist’s office, but you can with SmileBrilliant.

Wearing these whitening trays is just like wearing a retainer. They fit your teeth perfectly because they are designed using putty impressions that you make of your teeth. The process works like this: You order a kit, SmileBrilliant sends you a putty impression kit, you return the impressions via prepaid packaging, and then SmileBrilliant ships the custom whitening trays within a few days.

If you mess up during the impression process (which I did — my impressions were obviously a little shallow), SmileBrilliant will either send you a new impression kit or continue with the trays if they think they can make it work. In the latter case, the company will still send an impression kit along with the whitening trays just in case.

To use the trays, simply squeeze the carbamide peroxide whitening gel onto the top and bottom trays and slide them through. Be careful not to squeeze too much gel or it may spill over your sockets and stick to your gums and tongue. I did this the first time I wore the SmileBrilliant trays and the gel felt quite tingly. Other than that, I had no problems with these discs, despite my shallow impressions.

The Lumineux whitening kit is not a typical teeth whitening kit. Instead of hydrogen peroxide gel and an LED mouthpiece, this whitening kit includes simple everyday teeth whitening essentials, so it’s best for sensitive teeth — most people with sensitive teeth can’t handle something like hydrogen peroxide and LED lights.

This whitening kit includes Lumineux whitening strips, toothpaste and mouthwash, which use Lumineux’s patented formula containing coconut oil, dead sea salt and citrus oil.

For extra white teeth, don’t just use these products separately as usual. The instructions are clear: Wear the strips for 30 minutes, immediately brush for at least one minute, then rinse with mouthwash for at least one minute.

I love this kit because I have sensitive teeth and struggle to get through whitening treatments that involve bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

This teeth whitening kit is decent all around, but a few things kept it from being at the top of the list: The mouthpiece was huge (even though I have a small mouth) and the gel didn’t seem to spread evenly across my teeth. I also got quite a white chemical burn from the gel in this product.

However, if you’re looking for a whitening kit that costs less than $100, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, as long as you don’t have sensitive gums or teeth.

The whitening gel dispenses easily from the syringes — a welcome feature after spending a lot of time and effort squeezing tiny tubes of whitening gel with other products. The mouthpiece, although too big for me, feels quite nice on the teeth. It is very squishy compared to the harder plastic on some other products.

Finally, the pouch that comes with it is nice to have. Makes it easier to travel with the whitening kit if you want it.

Previously, Shyn had an LED whitening kit that she used Rembrandt bleaching films, which I loved. It was on my original list of the best overall teeth whitening products. I liked the old kit because the whitening strips are much less messy than the whitening gel, and as far as I know, that was the only whitening kit out there that used strips instead of gel.

Unfortunately, this product has been discontinued, but Shyn now has a whitening kit that uses a carbamide peroxide whitening gel. The Shyn Brighter LED whitening kit is similar to other whitening kits on the market, especially Colgate SuperNova. It comes with silicone tray, LED light device and whitening pen to fill the oral tray with gel.

This kit comes with three whitening pens, which is a nice touch because you won’t have to order refills right away like you would with other kits. When the time comes, you can purchase a maximum strength refill or a pack of three. You can also use the pens without the LED tray if you don’t want to walk around with a mouthpiece inside.

The Shyn Brighter kit also comes with a travel case. The case offers neat storage at home in addition to travel.