8 best teeth whitening kits: Strips, gels, powders and pens, tried and tested

This LED kit offers great value for money, with enough formula for 30 treatments. It boasts three times more ‘activator’ lights than competitors and, while I can neither confirm nor deny this claim (the exact number hasn’t been stated), I was pleased to learn of the triple LED functionality. The blue light aims to break down stains by speeding up the PAP (phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid) oxidisation process, while the brand claims that the red light will boost comfort by minimising bacteria, gum inflammation and tooth sensitivity. Users can even combine the red and blue lights at once.

Using the kit is as simple as applying the formula to your teeth, inserting the mouth tray, and activating your chosen light setting for 10-30 minutes. The mouth tray is comfortable to wear and, while the full 30 minutes is a bit of a jaw workout, the brand claims you’ll see results after seven days of 10-minute treatments, too. In fact, I saw my teeth getting brighter (judging by the shade guide included) after just one 30-minute session. My one gripe? Even the slightest nudge to the touch-activated power button will turn off the device.

If you’ve ever seen the social media marketing for Hismile’s colour corrector serum, you might be intrigued by its promise of instant whitening. I’m pleased to confirm that the serum works instantly, but it doesn’t have a long-lasting effect.

I tested it on one side of my mouth to see if I could detect any difference in tone between the left and right halves. After just a couple of minutes of working the product onto my teeth with a cotton swab, it was clear the side with the serum had brightened.

However, the next morning, my teeth had returned to normal, and both sides were back to the same shade of white. I also found that working the serum into every tooth for 30 seconds – as Hismile recommends – required quite a bit of armwork and around seven minutes of application in total - and that’s just for all your visible teeth.

For a night out or a special occasion, this colour corrector could be a great option. If you’re looking to do away with years of staining, this might not be the product for you.

I loved this brand’s LED mouthguard. It features everything from magnetic charging to easy ‘clench-free’ positioning, and it sits comfortably around your teeth and gums so you don’t need to strain your jaw to hold everything in place.

Whitening with this kit can be broken into four parts. Firstly, you apply the self-adhering whitening strips to the upper and lower teeth. After inserting the mouthguard, you then activate the LED function, which will operate for 10 minutes in a blue light mode (for accelerated whitening). Once the blue light times out, you can begin five minutes of gum health-boosting red light. Lastly, after leaving the strips in place for another 15 minutes, you can touch up with the included pen. This stage is designed to be used as an intermediary top-up after the 10-day treatment, but I did give it a go throughout the process, too.

After just one day of using this kit, I could see some patches looked whiter and, after the full 10 days of treatment, my teeth certainly lifted in colour by a shade or two. Admittedly, I don’t think the pen made a noticeable difference, and I found it hard to follow the brand’s ‘don’t swallow’ advice when actively swiping the pen across all my teeth. Additionally, I found the whitening strips, while non-slippy, for easy application, adhered to my teeth a bit too well, which made removing them a little uncomfortable.

On the whole, I found this kit effectively whitened my teeth, and the addition of the red light feature to reduce sensitivity was a bonus for my ice-cream averse front teeth.

Though I found this kit the least enjoyable to use, it was also the most effective. You apply a clear serum to dry teeth (which requires tissue and some serious grimacing while you hold your lips back) before using an LED shield for 10 minutes.

However, the whole process was uncomfortable. You have to clench your jaw to keep the LED shield in place, and I often had to adjust it. The process needs to be repeated twice daily after brushing your teeth, which is a little inconvenient, and it leaves a plastic film on the surface of your teeth. The brand says that you only need to rinse your mouth with water afterwards, but I found that it clings to your teeth. Every time I used this kit, I had to brush my teeth a second time to get rid of the serum.

That sounds like a lot of faff, but I can’t deny the effectiveness of the product. My teeth appeared brighter and whiter after just a couple of treatments, and, with the kit often on offer for less than £50, I think it’s worth the hassle. Just make sure you’ve got two weeks in which you can squeeze the daily 20-minute treatments.

Much like Spotlight’s LED mouthguard, this Icy Bear device is easy to wear, and the charge lasts for the full seven-day treatment. The application process is simple. All you have to do is inject one-third of a gel syringe in total across the top and bottom portions of the tray. After that, pop the tray in your mouth, activate the 10-minute LED treatment and sit for 10-20 minutes while the gel works its magic.

When you remove the mouthguard, you can see immediately that your teeth are glowing from the light-scattering titanium dioxide. This makes it a good choice if you want to brighten your teeth before an event.

However, the effect is only temporary. My teeth lifted a shade between days one and seven, but the gel tends to sink to the bottom of the tray, so I don’t think the colour difference was as intense as it could have been.

The final 10 minutes of wearing the tray may cause your jaw to clamp up, but the fact that the mouthguard can be separated from the battery pack makes this easy to clean. Overall, I think this kit is well priced for what it offers, as I saw results over a relatively short period.

Renowned for its LED face mask, Currentbody also has an LED whitening kit. Having tested the brand’s series one, two, and anti-blemish face masks, I’m well acquainted with its expertise in all things red, near-infrared and blue light – and it’s these wavelengths that make Currentbody’s whitening approach unique.

While the red and near-infrared light frequencies lower sensitivity by boosting cell renewal and healing, the blue light is designed to tackle oral bacteria to minimise bad breath. Together with the PAP (phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid), the kit is simultaneously tough on stains and gentle on enamel and gums. For me, Currentbody’s mouth tray was the comfiest I’ve tried, and the six-day use time wasn’t too long. Admittedly, 20 minutes is quite a long time to keep the device in your mouth but, given it’s wireless, it’s no hassle to watch TV or load a dishwasher while wearing it.

At the end of the testing period, the whiteness of my teeth had improved, and my results were similar to those on the brand’s website. The brilliance of the white had certainly been boosted, but the shade difference was fairly subtle. The kit includes enough gel doses for 12 sessions, so you can complete another full cycle further down the line.

This set includes both whitening strips and a whitening pen, so it’s excellent value. You get two products for less than the kits in most of this guide.

The no-frills whitening strips are hassle-free. There’s no recharging, and you don’t need to play dentist with a collection of syringes. Simply apply two strips – one for the top row and one for the bottom row of teeth – and you’re good to go. That said, applying the bottom strip can be tricky, as saliva may cause it to dissolve too quickly. I also found I couldn’t talk without worrying about disturbing the gel. On the bright side, the pleasant mint flavour eliminates the need for rinsing after application.

As for the whitening pen, I used it at night and noticed a visible improvement in the brightness of my teeth by morning. However, the effect was more of a temporary glow rather than a lasting change.

Long-term, I found the strips prevented dulling and gave my teeth an enhanced shine. That said, they might not be the best choice for those with deep-set stains from years of smoking or drinking coffee.

This teeth whitening trio offers a sleek approach to oral health and aesthetics, targeting bad breath, food stains and mouth sensitivity. Created by Dr Mahsa Shoaie, it’s designed as a follow-up treatment to “enhance” and “maintain” results from her in-chair whitening procedure at her clinic, Nejati. However, I used this one as a standalone kit.

As someone prone to dehydration – and the bad breath that comes with it – I enlisted my partner to help monitor any stale or sour mouth odours while I tested Mahsa’s oral serum pen and LED (red light mode) kit. Though not the most glamorous task, he was pleased to report no foul odours, even after I had coffee, which is usually the culprit.

Thanks to the charcoal in the toothpaste, the kit provides an instant whitening boost by absorbing surface stains from things such as red wine and curry. The combination of whitening pen and blue LED is key for more stubborn discolouration.

The blue light is meant to speed up the hydrogen peroxide, breaking down stains, and, although I’ve experienced sensitivity from hydrogen peroxide in the past, I didn’t have any discomfort with Mahsa’s formula. This is likely due to the low concentration (0.1 per cent), which also explains the subtle results. Overall, Mahsa’s kit provided a gentle but effective approach. However, it’s expensive.