Whitening toothpastes can lighten up stains and brighten teeth. Toothpastes bearing the name ‘whitening’ come in specially-made formula and active ingredients to address surface stains and discoloration. They may not be as fast or effective compared to other tooth-whitening options such as professional in-office bleaching and other OTC teeth whitening products with trays and gels or whitening strips, which expose teeth to whitening agents for longer times. However, whitening toothpastes can lift off stains gradually and can improve your smile overtime.
You might have superficial stains resulted by drinking coffee, tea, red wine or smoking, so whitening toothpastes will minimize the level of discoloration. For those deeper stains and discoloration, whitening toothpastes are not enough and therefore professional teeth whitening by dentists will be needed, which will use higher dosage of bleaching agents.
There are many toothpastes claiming to whiten teeth and brighten smile. Therefore, it is difficult to choose the most effective toothpaste regarding your needs and preferences. On other side, it is hard to know which one lives up to this claim. Whitening products offer different active ingredients and various whitening formula that affect the results. At first, it is good to know how toothpastes whiten teeth, which can unfold some facts for you.
How does whitening toothpastes work?
Generally, whitening toothpastes will remove surface stains and whiten teeth by using either abrasives or peroxides or combination of both.
- Abrasives:
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The most common abrasives found in toothpastes is hydrated silica. You can look for other common abrasive ingredients such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), calcium carbonate and phosphates. The abrasives work by mechanically remove stains from the surface of teeth and give a smooth and white look to your teeth.
- Peroxide:
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Hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide are two common bleaching agents used to whiten teeth. They work by oxidizing mechanism, which break down the tooth stains and dissolve them. This way, much stubborn stains can be eliminated. These ingredients make up the main chemicals in professional in-office whitening treatments, and it is added to teeth whitening products but in lower concentrations to avoid teeth sensitivity.
Other factors to consider
Anticaries and anticavity ingredients:
sometimes, you may want more than just a whitening toothpaste. You may want toothpastes that fight cavities, remineralize enamel of teeth and remove plaque buildups for you. This is where you should look for fluoride when buying your toothpaste. Fluoride is a key agent in controlling caries, so some people may appreciate having fluoride in their toothpaste beside whitening properties. Look for ingredients such as sodium fluoride (NAF), stannous fluoride (SnF), sodium monoFluorophosphate (MFP). With all these in mind, we rounded up the best whitening toothpastes on the market according to dentists’ suggestions, customer reviews, buying factors and the level of whitening effects. View our selection of best whitening toothpastes.
Here are the 7 best whitening toothpastes to choose:
- Snow whitening toothpastes
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Best Overall Whitening Toothpaste
Snow Whitening Toothpaste whitens teeth and brightens your smile using natural ingredients. This toothpaste is fluoride-free, which makes it favorable for those avoiding fluoride. Plus, it contains no sulfate in case you are looking for a ‘clean’ toothpaste free of extra toxic chemicals. Designed to be gentle on enamel and causing no sensitivity issues, Snow Whitening Toothpaste is a great option to brush your teeth with.
As a reminder, Snow is a high-rated and a well-recognized brand that has offered the high-quality teeth whitening kits for home use. Their whitening toothpaste is introduced to satisfy a more professional and effective whitening result for people who want to opt for a pro-style toothpaste.
This toothpaste comes in two flavors and for twice-daily brushing:
Morning frost (AM): flavored by fresh minty taste to freshen up your morning
Midnight Mist (PM); flavored by lavender and mint to give you a comfortable feeling for a good night sleep.
Cost: $40 on Snow
- Colgate Optic White Renewal Whitening Toothpaste
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Best Daily Whitening Toothpaste
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Colgate Optic White® whitening series have been top picks in the market, but one new version stands out, the Colgate Optic White Renewal. This brand-new whitening toothpaste is formulated with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, allowing for deeper stain removal on teeth. This amount of hydrogen peroxide is the highest found in a toothpaste based on what dentists may recommend.
It serves as an anticavity toothpaste, too since this toothpaste contains active fluoride ingredients. This makes Colgate Renewal an enamel-safe daily whitening toothpaste while providing boosting whitening effects.
- Crest 3D White Brilliance Toothpaste
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Best 2-Step Whitening Toothpaste
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Crest® has been one of the leading oral care brands for years. Their top-rated whitening toothpaste, Crest 3D White Brilliance 2-step, can’t be ignored. It is powered by hydrogen peroxide and sodium peroxide to whiten and brighten teeth. You will have the cavity prevention benefits because the product is enriched with active 0.24 percent sodium fluoride.
The package comes with 2-step process for a unique whitening power:
Step1: brush with step1 tube for one minute (deep cleaning toothpaste)
No rinsing
Step2: switch over to brushing with step2 tube for another one minute (whitening finisher) After daily brushing with Crest 3D White Brilliance, you should see marked difference and how teeth have been professionally whitened.
- Sensodyne Extra Whitening Toothpaste
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Best For Sensitive Teeth
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Sensodyne’s extra whitening toothpaste come as a best-selling toothpaste for sensitive teeth in the USA, according to the Sensodyne’ official website. It is no surprise since this toothpaste is formulated with potassium nitrate as its active agent, the most common desensitizing agent. It is designed to be gentle on teeth while doing a good job to whiten teeth, thanks to the silica ingredient taking action to scrub the stains off of the teeth.
The product has active sodium fluoride to help prevent cavities, so it does protect the enamel on teeth.
Beside the sensitivity relief, Sensodyne extra whitening aims for maximum whitening and makes teeth feel clean and polished.
- Arm & Hammer Advance White Extreme Whitening Toothpaste
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Best Baking Soda Whitening Toothpaste
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Truly a classic brand, Arm & Hammer Advance White is backed by baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to scrub away the hard-to-remove stains on your teeth. Not only does this toothpaste whitens with its peroxide-based formula, but it has baking soda as part of it whitening mechanism.
This enamel-safe product provides thorough cleaning for those hard-to-reach areas in teeth with its foaming action. Labelled tartar control, it can target deep tartar and plaque build-ups on the surface of teeth. Also, the toothpaste contains fluoride to fight against cavities and help strengthen the enamel.
Get an ultra-white smile with no sensitivity and gum irritations by daily brushing. It leaves your breath smelling good and fresh for longer times using a minty flavored taste.
- Tom’s of Maine Antiplaque and Whitening toothpaste
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Best Natural Whitening Toothpaste
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You want to whiten teeth but with more of a natural whitening option, Tom’ of Maine is a popular toothpaste to go for. The product is well-beloved and got the approval of many with plenty of positive online reviews on amazon just. There is no place for artificial flavors, colors and preservatives in this toothpaste. Instead, the toothpaste is formulated with ‘naturally derived ingredients’ to fight cavities, whiten teeth and freshen breath with its refreshing peppermint flavor and fragrance.
For those who want to avoid fluoride, it is good to know that Tom’s of Maine Antiplaque and Whitening is a fluoride-free toothpaste. It is vegan and contains xylitol, which is a natural sweetener that has anticaries benefits and contribute to remineralizing of enamel.
Beside xylitol, this toothpaste features zinc citrate ingredient to prevent cavities and plaque while keeping the teeth safe against tartar formation. This makes Toms of Maine a ‘tartar control’ toothpaste along with the whitening effects.
Enjoy the flavors and let the natural ingredients take their effects on the stain-removing process.
- SmileDirectClub Premium Teeth Whitening Fluoride
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Best Budget Whitening Toothpaste
Known for its professional at-home teeth whitening kits, SmileDirect club’ company know their job very well in how to offer a brighter smile and whiter teeth. With their Premium Fluoride Toothpaste, they aim for maximum cleaning and cavity prevention. The product contains 0.24 % sodium fluoride as its active ingredient in order to get rid of cavities and protect teeth against plaque and tartar build-ups. This enamel-safe toothpaste is gluten-free and doesn’t include artificial flavors and preservative. Rather, the xylitol adds more to the advantages paired with the cool minty flavor, which makes great choice for its taste and freshness.
Cost: $5 on SmileDirectClub
