At-home: Teeth Whitening with Custom Trays

To whiten your teeth at home, simply fill custom-made trays with the doctor-dispensed whitening gel every few nights (or as instructed by your dentist), and place them over your teeth while you sleep. Unlike over-the-counter whitening strips, trays allow every part of your teeth to be saturated with the bleaching gel, including the backs.

Custom-fitted bleaching trays, used at home, are an easy way to keep your smile white and bright. “The best results are achieved through a combination of in-office whitening, followed by at-home maintenance,” says Charlotte, NC, cosmetic dentist Robert Lowe, DDS. “Bleaching trays custom-fitted to your smile allow you to maintain and enhance your results, providing quick touch-ups when needed,” he adds.

At home trays are comparable to professional bleaching by cosmetic dentists, upper and lower mouthpieces can be made at home to create personal whitening trays. Available kits include bleaching gels and are recommended for daily use.

Many dentists recommend a combination of initial in-office whitening and maintenance with custom-made at-home trays. With the combination, “you’re getting whitening from all different directions and from all different levels,” New York cosmetic dentist Steven Roth, DMD says.