There are many products and methods to whitening your teeth at home that claim they do a great job. We're going to take a look at some of the most popular methods along with the benefits and negatives found.

First up, Professional Teeth Whitening:

BENEFITS:

Fast results. Of all the methods to whiten teeth, having your teeth whitened through a professional service is by far the fastest.

Healthy Teeth: A professional will do a comprehensive checkup [which you probably need anyway] to make certain your teeth are in good condition.

NEGATIVES:

Need to make an appointment: If you're pressed for time, this is not the most convieient option.

Price: Professional services simply cost more

Maintenance: Once your teeth are their whitest, an occasional maintenance treatment is needed that is usually an extra expense.

Product #2. Whitestrips example: Crest Whitestrips, etc.

These are strips of soft plastic material that slips onto your front teeth and whitens your smile

BENEFITS:

Inexpensive: Whitestrips and products of this type are typicaly available at your local drug store or larger supermarkets at attractive price points.

Convienient: Us this product whenever you have spare time. Because of the simplicity of design, you can use it anywhere
and not look like your mouth is full.

Effective: Although these products typically do not whiten your teeth to their whitest, they can and do whiten and brighten your smile to a point.

NEGATIVES;

Incomplete: Although these products do whiten your smile, they only whiten the teeth that are treated. This is usually just the front teeth leaving other teeth discolored.

Not completely effective: Due to it's very nature, there is limited gel material to effectively whiten your teeth to their absolute whitest.

Use Difficulty: Although small, they are still required to be in contact with your teeth. Keeping the whitestrip products in place while the gel does it's work can be a challenge.

Product #3. Teeth Whitening Toothpastes ie: Rembrandt, Colgate Simply White
At one time simply white was a brush on proudct that claimed to whiten teeth. Today, it's a toothpaste from a major product provider.

BENEFITS:

Ease of use: We all brush our teeth so this product should be a natural for all of us to use.

Maintenance: Higher quality toothpaste, although more expensive also has additional ingredients that help keep your whitened smile bright. This is especially important if you're planning to have your teeth renewed with any teeth whitening solution.

NEGATIVES:

Whitening Ability: If using a teeth whitening toothpaste is your strategy for whiter teeth, it won't work. At least, it won't work to a degree where you can easily notice. This product is great to maintain the white shade of your teeth and especially effective as a maintenance product. As a stand alone home teeth whitening solution however, don't bother.

Price: These products cost a lot more than regular toothpaste. Still, if they can help keep your teeth brighter longer, why not?

Three products with three different sets of benefits and negatives. Professional teeth whitening solutions are expensive but can get your teeth and smile into condition rapidly.

The whitestrips idea promises convienience and delivers on that promise. To bad we couldn't see a clear difference in the color and shade of our teeth.

It's important to remember that although the teeth whitening toothpaste product may not be particularly effective as a teeth whitening agent itself, it does a great job keeping your new white teeth looking their brightest.