I received a complimentary at home teeth whitening kit from Smile Brilliant in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for enabling me to smile fearlessly.

In motherhood, there are three constants: chaos, coffee, and wine.

Do I really need to explain further?

Being a mom means my day is full of beautiful, enlightening, hilarious, and heartwarming moments I wouldn’t trade for the world, but in between those highs lie the frenzied mornings, the evening meltdowns, the skipped workouts, the quickness to anger, the poop (my god, the poop!), and the constant doubts about whether I am doing this whole parenting thing right.

Hence the coffee and wine.

While I cherish my morning coffee and sharing an evening glass of red wine with my husband, those two life-giving beverages have a propensity to stain my teeth.

Couple that with years of body image struggles and negative thoughts, and you can see how not having a bright, white smile can do a number on my self-confidence.

That’s why I’m thrilled to share my experience with the professional at-home whitening kit, Smile Brilliant.

At-Home Whitening with Smile Brilliant

When a representative of Smile Brilliant reached out to me to test their product, I couldn’t wait to say yes!

I regularly brush with whitening toothpaste, occasionally use an all-natural charcoal tooth scrub, schedule regular dental cleanings, and have even tried those ubiquitous drug store whitening strips a couple times, but I’ve never gotten the results I’ve wanted.

The strips tend to fall right off my teeth and make a big mess, and I never seem to finish the entire round of whitening thanks to major sensitivity issues. Plus, I always worry that I’m damaging my enamel.

But Smile Brilliant is different. It really does work, and the process is quite easy.

Creating Your Impressions

After you’ve visited the Smile Brilliant website and selected the right whitening package for you, you’ll receive a kit containing the following:

easy step-by-step instructions with helpful photos
prepaid envelope
2 trays (top and bottom) to create your unique impressions
3 sets of base/catalyst paste (enough for top, bottom, and an extra if you mess up)
professional teeth whitening (and desensitizing, if applicable) gel syringes

Before you begin, you’ll brush and floss your teeth as well as possible.

After your teeth are cleaned—and your trays have been gently rinsed with water and dried—you’ll mix one tub of base paste with one tub of catalyst.

Quickly blend until no white streaks remain, and gently press into one of the molds. Carefully insert into your mouth (top or bottom), making effort not to drag or wiggle the trays.

Once dried and hardened, gently remove and repeat the process on whichever teeth remain.

After the molds have set overnight, rinse, dry, and mail back to Smile Brilliant in your prepaid envelope, where a team of professionals will create your custom-fit dental trays.

Let the Whitening Begin

The actual whitening process, though easy, is a bit more time consuming.

To begin, brush your teeth with water (not toothpaste) and dry as well as possible. Add a strip of whitening gel across the front of each tray; gently apply to your teeth, allowing the gel to spread evenly over the surface. If gel leaks onto gums, wipe it off.

Now…go be productive! Manage some of that chaos, whether that means cleaning up the playroom, prepping tomorrow’s coffee pot, cooking dinner, or reading a book for some self-care. You can do just about anything as long as you’re not eating or drinking.

For my first session, I whitened for 30 minutes. I immediately increased to 45 minutes and then about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you’re comfortable and have the free time (oh, how I envy your chaos-free life!), you can safely whiten up to 3 hours.

Once finished, simply rinse your trays in cold water. Brush your teeth with a non-whitening toothpaste (I ended up borrowing my son’s—shhh! don’t tell). If you’re using the desensitizing gel, you’ll repeat the process. Apply a thin strip to each tray, gently place in mouth, and wear for at least 15 minutes. No need to brush or rinse after!

Pros and Cons

There are definitely more positives than negatives to Smile Brilliant, but I want to leave you with a 100% honest review.

Cons

The process is lengthy.

It takes several weeks to get your package, make ySour molds, receive your impressions, and complete the whitening, so if you’re planning to whiten for a big event (wedding, photo shoot, etc.), keep all that in mind!

It’s not entirely painless.

Though the desensitizing gel helped tremendously, I did experience a little bit of sensitivity. It wasn’t unbearable, and one way to manage this is simply to whiten every other (or every two) nights as I did.

The sessions are time-consuming

I didn’t just want to call it quits after 30 minutes, but 3 hours was impossible for me. If you have a busy schedule, you need to eat dinner fairly early (or stay up quite late) in order to have adequate time to whiten. Plan accordingly!

Pros

Despite the time involved, the process is so easy!

I was able to clean the house, watch TV, read, and play with my son while the trays and whitening gel were doing their thing.

It’s affordable.

Because Smile Brilliant creates your trays in a professional dental lab, you don’t have to pay for a dental exam and multiple chair visits, enabling you to save hundreds of dollars.

The customization factor.

If you want to whiten every night or just every few days, it’s your choice. Same goes for the length of time. There were a couple of nights where I’d planned to whiten but just got caught up in other things; instead of fretting over rescheduling an appointment, I simply whitened the following night.

The staff is so supportive!

If you have questions about creating your impressions or need advice on managing sensitivity, just email their staff! They will answer any inquiries and be your “teeth-whitening cheerleader.” They truly believe in their product, and it shows.

The Best Thing about Smile Brilliant

The absolute best thing about Smile Brilliant is this: IT WORKS!

I’ve always felt self-conscious about my teeth; they weren’t terribly stained, but they did have some yellowing. I also have a slight chip in my front tooth, so not having sparkling white teeth made me feel even more self-conscious about that small imperfection.

After about 15 applications of Smile Brilliant, I feel like my teeth are much closer to their natural coloring.