4 Easy Ways to Get Whiter Teeth

Your smile is your calling card (just ask Lindsay Lohan), so it’s important that your teeth always look their whitest and brightest.  In the quest for whiter teeth, the options on the market seem limitless.

Teeth whitening products./Photo by Tracy E. Hopkins

While some prefer to take a more medical route to whiten their teeth, and consult dental professionals or websites like topdentists.com, others prefer to take a do-it-yourself approach at their local pharmacy.

Here are a few teeth whitening suggestions from Everything She Wants to help you get ready for your close up:

1) Be aware of the foods and drinks that stain your teeth and cause them to yellow. For example, soda, coffee, red wine, blueberries and tobacco products can gradually build up stains and cause your teeth to yellow. Conversely, other foods such as those rich in calcium, Vitamin D and some citrus fruits like strawberries can whiten, strengthen and fortify your teeth's enamel.

2) Use over-the-counter methods to whiten your teeth. The most cost efficient and speediest whitening methods are to use whitening strips, toothpaste or mouthwash. 

My picks: Crest 3D White Whitestrips 2 Hour Express ($19.50), which promise whiter teeth in two hours; and Colgate Optic White ($6.98), which has the same whitening ingredient as strips and boasts whiter teeth in one week.

3) Pick up a whitening kit. Most kits include whitening strips or a substance that you place over your teeth for different periods of time, either while you sleep or for 20 or 30 minutes at a time.  Other kits provide you with brushes to run over your freshly brushed teeth. And some kits provide you with a light that you can hold up to your teeth for a period of time to whiten them. 

My pick: Go Smile Whitening Light System ($198) promises to whiten your teeth up to eight shades in just 30 minutes.

4)  Consult your dentist for a more permanent teeth whitening solution.