Hello, hello!
I was contacted by the online marketing team from Smile Brilliant to see if I was interested in testing out their customized at-home teeth whitening system in exchange for my honest review, which I was because I drink coffee, tea (and red wine in the colder months) – all of which can cause tooth staining.
I’ve tried dental whitening strips in the past, and found them to be uncomfortable and annoying to use because they kept sliding off, irritated my gums and did not whiten evenly. At the dentist whitening is out of my price range at $500+.
After being asked a few questions about my teeth (dental health, sensitivity etc) my Smile Brilliant Kit arrived in the mail.
The Kit:
My Smile Brilliant kit arrived and in it are the things you need to make your dental impressions, and syringes of the whitening and desensitizing gels. As well, there is a mailer to send your dental impression back to the lab.
[If you are in the US, you will receive a postage paid return envelope, if you are outside of the US, you have to pay your return postage. That being said, the postage for the kit and the custom trays is free for domestic shipping and is $29 for international shipping.]
Making the dental impressions:
Not going to lie, I was initially scared removing the dental impression trays, for two seconds I was sure that my teeth were going to come out with it. Totally didn’t happen. It is actually quite easy to do – and the kit comes with step by step instructions. Once the dental impressions have been made, you just pop them into the mailing envelope and send it to them. The Smile Brilliant Lab then makes the custom dental trays from your impressions.
The whitening process:
Floss and brush teeth with only water (do not use toothpaste because the fluoride in it will act as a barrier and slow the whitening process). Whiten for 1-3 hours. Start with shorter sessions and work your way up to leaving your trays on longer as your teeth are comfortable (especially if teeth are sensitive). Brush teeth with toothpaste as normal. Rinse the whitening gel from trays with cool water and fully dry them (a Q- tip works well). Apply desensitizing gel to trays for 15 to 20 minutes. Simply swish the excess desensitizing gel and spit. This should leave a thin layer of the desensitizing gel on your teeth. Each syringe has enough gel for 3-4 applications (one application = both top and bottom mouthpieces). [info taken from the Smile Brilliant FAQ]
My experience:
I started the whitening process on October 11th – usually while watching a movie or reading before bedtime. The custom dental trays are surprisingly comfortable to wear and stay in place.
Because I have sensitive teeth, it was recommended that I start with a 45 minute whitening followed by 20 minutes with the desensitization gel, and skip a day in between to gauge my sensitivity. Since my sensitivity was very minimal, I increased my whitening time to 1 hour on October 15th , and started whitening daily after that point for a total of 8 sessions.
The below photo shows my level of staining before and the level of whitening I achieved after just 8 sessions! I’m going to save the rest of my syringes for a “touch up” in a few months.
Before (top) and after (bottom):
I found it difficult to judge the amount of gel to use at first, so I marked the syringes with a sharpie into four sections as each syringe has enough gel for 3 to 4 applications. This made it easier for applying the gel evenly into the dental trays.
I think that this is a great method for at home dental whitening. And price-wise it is so much more affordable than dental office whitening – the kits range in price from $129 to $159 USD Non-Sensitive, and from $139 to $179 USD for Sensitive kits. The kits vary in price based on the level of staining and number of whitening (+desensitizing) syringes.
Feel free to ask me any questions about my experience.
Giveaway!
The folks at Smile Brilliant have kindly given me a promo code for my readers as well as a giveaway prize for a $139 credit towards a whitening kit!
Promo code for $15 off: abrashattitude15
The Giveaway is open for two weeks. Enter through the link. This giveaway is open to USA, UK, Canada, and Australia residents. Good luck!
Disclosure: PR sample and promo code. However, my opinion is very much my own!
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