I’ve got a thing about teeth. How about you? Are they deal breakers for you? They sort of are for me. I know, that should make no sense considering I married a hockey player but he has all of his. He did take a puck to the mouth about three months before our wedding, chipping a front tooth, but we quickly got it fixed. Anyway, I’ve had a thing about teeth most of my life. I was lucky and never had to have braces and have always had pretty nice teeth—by no means perfect—but nice. As I aged and was introduced to coffee, acidic foods and eventually wine, I started to see the effects of stains despite my best efforts to brush and floss twice daily. I quickly dove into the teeth whitening world when it rose to popularity. Now if you think I could afford a professional whitening by my dentist as a poor college student, you’ve lost your mind. I had to resort to the good old strips and whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes—even gum. I became a huge fan of strips (strippling as I dubbed it for a good chuckle). Most of college you could find me studying with a mouthful of strips to get my toofers pearly white. That all had to end after one fateful night.
I was studying for finals, had just finished a second pot of coffee and decided to read over a couple of more chapters while I stripped (whitened). I slapped them on, dove into my notes and woke up four hours later to birds chirping and a terrible chalky taste in my mouth. I had fallen asleep with whitening strips on my teeth. I had to peel (rip) them off and oh my lanta were my teeth recked. They were white—blinding–but even the air hitting them made me wince. Let me be clear this wasn’t the strips fault—it was my own for falling asleep with them on. From that day on though, my teeth were incredibly sensitive and I really couldn’t use strips again because of it.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago. I received an email from Smile Brilliant asking if I’d be down to sponsor a product. Now, I get quite a few of these offers and a good chunk of them are scams. However, when I started researching the company (some articles found here), checked their reviews, and saw the product lineup options, I realized it was a legit teeth whitening opportunity and I was sold. I didn’t get my hopes up too high because I was worried about my sensitive teeth. I alerted the recruiter of my issue and she assured me she’d send a special kit for people like me with tooth sensitivity. I was beyond pumped. Free teeth whitening for an honest product review? Sign me up!
I want to say a couple of things before I get into the review. First, if you’ve followed me for a minute over on Instagram (@girlsgoalsandgongshows) or have become familiar with my blog, you know I call it like I see it—even to a fault. I have no desire to lie or sell you false information. What I’m about to share is exactly how it happened and from my own personal results—which may or may not be similar to yours if you try them. I will sprinkle some personal tips throughout the review. I created an entire story highlight over on my Instagram as well, with some more detail of my personal process via videos. I also want to share a few links like the one here that includes 10 facts everyone should know about teeth whitening. Also, stick with me until the end because I have a giveaway opportunity open to anyone eighteen years of age and older anywhere Smile Brilliant ships. Also, I have a crazy amazing discount code for you to use to receive 15% off your own purchase if you go for it. The code is: girlsgoalsandgongshows15. Ok, let’s dive in…
I received my specialized kit quite quickly. To give you an idea of what your own custom kit could look like click here I didn’t realize the kits were so professional. I had researched but I was impressed once I actually had it in my hands. In it I received the mold putty kits to create my custom trays, the whitening gel, desensitizing gel and incredibly easy to follow instructions on how to get the ball rolling. The process was quite simple, create my custom imprint/mold and send it back in the prepaid envelope they provided, wait to receive my custom trays and then start whitening. I will say that when I initially opened the kit I was slightly overwhelmed. Excited–but overwhelmed. Once I read the instructions, though, that feeling quickly faded. They have each step clearly laid out and simply stated. Don’t get overwhelmed when you get your own kit. Just follow it step by step and you’ll see what I mean.
Creating my impressions with the putty was probably the part that made me the most nervous because this was a step you could legitimately screw up. I realized I wasn’t alone though, and kuddos to Smile Brilliant because I saw they included three molding kits not just two (one for up and one for lower). So anxiety level went down when I realized I could screw one up and still have a backup. Pretty brilliant of them. The instructions were simple—brush and floss, mix the catalyst and base paste together, stick it in the biter thing and then press your teeth into it. You then hold for three minutes and you’re done. This wasn’t hard but it was a little akward. Are you old enough to remember getting fluoride at the dentist? They had those foam mouth pieces they loaded with (still gross despite flavoring) fluoride and you sat with the hose in your mouth for three minutes trying to spit all the excessive spit out of your mouth. It’s sort of like that. Not the most pleasant but not exactly torture. I was drooling and wiping spit the whole three minutes I molded but I was fine with it considering the end game. After the upper and lower impressions were made, I signed off on a consent card and sent them back in a prepaid envelope and waited for my custom trays to arrive.
The total turn around to receive your custom trays in the United States is about 14 days max and trust me when I tell you the day I received them I was ready to whiten. This part of the process was a walk in the park. I received four whitening gel syringes and four desensitizing gel syringes. To whiten, I brushed my teeth without tooth paste, dried them and then cleaned and dried my custom-fitted trays. All I had to do then was squirt some of my whitening gel in the trays and pop them in my mouth. The duration time to whiten depends greatly on your tooth sensitivity and how frequently you’re doing it. I was a bit hesitant because my teeth were so sensitive, so that first time I did the minimum 45 minutes. Now, when I started sharing this journey over on Instagram some people were like 45 minutes holy moley. That was nothing to me though. I just popped on an Episode of Murder She Wrote and boom. Whitening time was up. After that I brushed my teeth (with toothpaste this time) and cleaned the trays. Then I simply repeated except using the desensitizing gel. This stays on for only 15-20 minutes and that was the end of my first round. Side note, I loved that desensitizing gel. It felt amazing.
I repeated multiple times throughout the week and since I wasn’t having sensitivity I was able to build up my whitening time. They say you can do up to three hours if you want. I never did that much. The max amount I did was probably an hour and half. I also ended up doing treatments about three to four times a week for a total of about fourteen treatments.
So, now that I’m finished are you wondering what I think about it all? I’ll tell you what I think. I think I had moldy yellow teeth before I did this process. I am still floored by the results. I honestly thought I had fairly white teeth heading into this. I didn’t. I am personally sold on the product. For the cost of a kit I look back on how much I had spent on whitening strips, toothpastes, gum and mouth washes and it’s a no brainer for me. This is a great option that will yield results if followed according to the instructions.
For anyone wondering about any downsides, ever the devil’s advocate, I had read some testimonials where people had sensitivity or burning and I have to be honest—I didn’t have any of that. Towards the end, the only sensitivity I had was on one tooth that I had multiple dental work on over the years. The sensitivity was like a quick shock when I initially would put the tray in but then it would subside. The next day I’d have a little bit of sensitivity but it lasted only that long–again this only happened around treatment twelve. It didn’t deter me from continuing. My tooth sensitivity has not increased since doing this procedure. Also, never when I used it did I have any burning on my gums. One important tip I picked up was not to overfill your trays with the gel. I believe that’s what would cause any gum sensitivity because the product would overflow onto your gum line. I was always careful to line the trays with a thin strip of product and the issue never came up for me. The other thing Smile Brilliant recommended and I closely followed was doing the process at night. That way you aren’t eating or drinking afterward and while you sleep your teeth can rehydrate.
I honestly didn’t need to write out a lengthy review because I think the results speak for themselves. All you have to do is take a look at my before and after pictures above to see this process works—and works well. I’m thrilled that the kit came with more than enough treatments, too, so if I need to touch up at all yet this year I’m able to. Plus, now that I have my custom trays I can reorder any gels if needed in the future for touchups.
All in all, I would recommend giving this procedure a try. I’m sure you have a lot of questions–this is a great link to check out before you make a decision. Also, if you have any ingredient questions here is a good place to start.
Finally, if you’re as excited to have an incredible teeth whitening opportunity as I was, go ahead and click here here to purchase your own kit. Be sure to use my code: girlsgoalsandgongshows15 to receive 15% off your total order. Also be sure to enter my giveaway for a $159 credit, open to residents eighteen years of age and older in all countries Smile Brilliant ships to–that’s you, too, my Canadian friends and family. I want to thank Smile Brilliant for this opporuntiy. You were wonderful to work with and you made this collaboration experience incredibly positive and fun.
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