College Life Made Easy is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

DISCLAIMER: Smile Brilliant sent me their whitening system to try out, but as always all thoughts, experiences & opinions are my own.

I HATE going to the dentist. After having 12 teeth pulled, lots of orthodontic visits and 2.5 years of braces…

…it’s safe to say that I have a good reason to not like going, too.

While I strongly dislike dentist visits, I DO like the professional teeth whitening results you can get from them.

But then again:

Another thing that I DON’T love is the price. The average cost for in-office whitening is $650 – ouch!

As a broke-ish young adult myself, I just can’t afford to drop that much on teeth whitening.

Buuuut, I have good news:

I’ve found a solution that satisfies my desire to have banging white teeth AND, all without draining my bank account.

In this post:

I’m going to show you how budget-friendly professional teeth whiting results can be, through my Smile Brilliant Review.

Professional Teeth Whitening Kit Results on a Budget: Smile Brilliant Review

So a little background from me:

Whitening products I’ve used in the past have included; Crest Whitestrips, whitening toothpaste and the DIY baking soda method. None of which I saw any significant results from.

Plus:

Crest Whitestrips make my teeth REALLY sensitive afterward. Not fun!

I’m not a huge coffee, tea or wine drinker. But, I have always felt like my teeth have a bit of a yellow-y tinge to them.

The Process

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of HOW whitening your teeth with Smile Brilliant works.

What I enjoyed about using their teeth whitening system was how simple and easy the whole process was. I received a kit with all the supplies needed to make impressions of my teeth, desensitizing gel and whitening gel.

My first step:

Making impressions of my teeth so that they could make custom-fitted trays. If you’ve had retainers made (like my fellow former brace-wearers), making the impressions will have a very deja vu type feel.

The trays are used to apply the gel to the teeth in such a way that ensures ALL surfaces of the teeth are covered. Wouldn’t want to miss any spots, now would we?

I didn’t do a very good job making my impressions (oops), but thankfully I was mailed more putty with which to make them. And all free of charge!

After mailing them off for a second time, I received my custom teeth trays after a week or so.

At this part of my Smile Brilliant Review, it was now time to get my teeth whitening on.

For this next step:

I was actually a little nervous about how sensitive the whitening would make my teeth. Teeth sensitivity is annoying and painful when all you want to do is drink some ice cold water.

Flashbacks to using Crest Whitestrips made me wary.

But, get this:

I’m so happy (and surprised) to report, that throughout the whole time I used Smile Brilliant’s whitening gel I had ZERO sensitivity issues!

The desensitizing gel included in my kit did a damn fine job making sure I didn’t experience any discomfort. And for that, I’m thankful.

How the actual teeth whitening goes down:

Because the trays were made to fit my teeth perfectly, the whitening part was a breeze.

I applied a thin ribbon of the whitening gel to the front part of the tray and then I put them on over my teeth. The trays are made of a soft plastic, so they were pretty comfy for extended wear.

I used a few q-tips to wipe off the excess gel that squished out of the top when I put them on. The gel can be irritating to the gums, so this part was important.

The instructions say to leave it on for between 45 minutes – 3 hours.

What I did:

My first session I left on the whitening gel for 45 min, then the next day for an hour. I continued to increase my wear time an additional 15 min until I got up to 2 hours and 45 min of wear time.

I did 10 sessions total for this experiment.

I started slow with how long I left them on because again, I was worried about sensitivity. My teeth handled it like a champ, though.

After each whitening session I used the desensitizing gel for 15-20 minutes.

It’s recommended to the whitening process before bedtime, as you should avoid eating or drinking for at least 30 minutes after the desensitizing gel.

However:

I liked using the system in the mornings, as I work from home (living that blogger life) and practice intermittent fasting. So, I didn’t have to worry about not eating right after.

Popping in my trays, setting a timer and working on my computer was a snap.

It was hardly noticeable due to the process being gentle, and the trays being so comfy.

I will say that there was one drawback I noticed in my Smile Brilliant Review:

When I got up to the longer wear times, it was quite awhile to go without drinking water. I’m a big water drinker and like to stay as hydrated as possible.

But:

I feel like I can more than deal with that little inconvenience! Because after the initial daily whitening for 7 – 14 days with daily applications, keeping up maintenance is much shorter.

1-2 applications every 2-3 months afterward will keep teeth stain-free for predictability forever. 

Okay, But How Much Does it Cost??

Alright, cool so now we know that whitening your teeth at home is straight forward enough for just about anyone to do.

Now onto one of the most important parts of this Smile Brilliant review (or at least to those of us with tight budgets):

The part where we talk about cost!

Earlier I mentioned how pricey it was to get a whitening treatment at the dentist’s office. Well, the good news is that this at home whitening system is just a fraction of the cost.

The cost of Smile Brilliant

The price for a whitening kit without the desensitizing gel (if you know your teeth aren’t prone to sensitivity) is $139. That includes a custom set of trays and enough whitening gel for 9 applications (top & bottom).

The price for a whitening kit with the desensitizing gel is just $149. That includes a custom set of trays, whitening gel and desensitizing gel for 9 applications.

If you want to get more whitening gel or desensitizing gel (if you have more heavily stained teeth) the price is $159 – $189 (depending on how much you’re wanting).

Just a little reminder:

That same whitening treatment is on average $650 (wowza!) at a dentist.

And once you run out of whitening gel, another 3 pack good for at least 9 applications is only $35.

So:

If you were scared about the cost of maintenance after the initial process, it actually gets even more affordable.

9 applications worth of the desensitizing gel is only $19 – again very do-able from my perspective.

Of course:

The more you buy the better the prices are per unit! You know, for those of you who are looking to FULLY maximize the bang for your buck.

Also good to know:

The gel has a life span of 1 year when left unrefrigerated, and 2 years when kept refrigerated. So you can stock up without fear of it going bad before you need to use it.

But, I mean is it really the exact same quality?

Here’s what Smile Brilliant’s FAQ page has to say about that:

“We offer the exact same, custom-fitted teeth whitening trays as your local cosmetic dentist. In fact, we provide teeth whitening services to many dentists who do not have the lab (or the space) to create trays in-house. Our trays and professional strength teeth whitening gel exceed general dentists standards. By eliminating the dentist and allowing customers to purchase direct, we are able to deliver 3x to 5x faster and at 70% less price.”

So there you have it, it is the same stuff you can get done by your local dentist! Check out these 10 facts about teeth whitening for more info than I have here in my Smile Brilliant Review.

But if you don’t believe that (and I wouldn’t hold your skepticism against you), I think the results speak for themselves. 

My Teeth Whitening Results With Smile Brilliant

Now for my favorite part of my Smile Brilliant Review:

The teeth whitening results! And here are mine…

Sorry my lips are kind of chapped in the after photos!

But:

As you can see, my teeth got at least a couple shades brighter. I plan to keep using the whitening kit to see how white my teeth can get!

My Smile Brilliant Review Overall Thoughts

Overall, I’m pleased with my teeth whitening results!

I found the process to be fool-proof, thanks to the abundant step-by-step directions and customer support available.

And:

I would definitely recommend Smile Brilliant when it comes getting professional whitening results at home. I also think that the price is MUCH more reasonable than typical dentist pricing.

And maintenance is UBER cheap.

Skip the stuff you can buy at the store, because in my experience it’s just a waste of money and time. The initial kit may cost a bit more upfront, but you’ll actually get NOTICEABLE results with it.

Unlike some other options which can leave you wondering if they really did anything.

When it comes to affordable teeth whitening results, Smile Brilliant is a GREAT choice.

• Looking for other ways to maximize your spending? Check out 12 Tips to Save Money on Groceries (NO Coupons Needed)