Certain foods, coffee, tea, soda, and red wine all have a staining effect on tooth enamel. Smoking is another cause for the darkening of teeth. Tooth-whitening systems are a very effective way of lightening the color of stained teeth without removing any of the tooth surfaces. The most popular of all tooth-whitening treatments is the laser treatment. Rapid white-light tooth-whitening systems and Crest Whitening Strips are also very popular.

Laser tooth-whitening treatment makes use of the latest dental technology to give instant results. It is possible to reverse tooth stains by using a particular whitening gel that is activated softly by the wavelength of laser light. The rapid whitening system consists of three active components, and comes with a mouth guard and an instruction booklet. Technically, it is a method of gently whitening stained teeth; also, it does not involve bleaching. This is a very inexpensive method, and it can be easily done at home.

The simplest system of teeth whitening is by the use of products that can be picked up from any drugstore. These products use very mild bleaching solutions. They may be applied as strips, brushed on, squeezed into one-size-fits-all trays, or even used in conjunction with normal toothpaste and mouthwash. Although these products are very popular, their gentle action makes them less effective.

Crest Whitening Strips seem to be the best system available. This system comes with a professional strength whitening formula that provides convenient, comfortable, and affordable tooth whitening. These white strips contain an enamel-safe ingredient, which is in contrast to other tooth-whitening systems available these days. Thus, Crest Whitening Strips appear to be the most convenient and reasonable choice. These flexible, virtually invisible strips need only be worn for thirty minutes twice a day.