What is the best way to whiten your teeth? Is it with whitening toothpaste, professional at-home kits and strips or should you go for an in-office power bleach?

Whiter teeth can help make you look younger, more beautiful and become more confident. However, with so many teeth whitening options available to help you achieve that brighter, whiter smile, it's also no wonder one can easily become confuse or clueless about the best way to whiten your teeth.

To decide on the best teeth whitening treatment for yourself, you should first ask yourself a few questions:

How Serious Are My Teeth Stains?
For any extrinsic stains cause by smoking, foods, drinks or poor dental hygiene, the stains can be easily removed with teeth whitening strips, professional whitening trays or with an in-office power whitening. For more serious intrinsic discoloration cause due to medical reasons or through the consumption of certain drugs, dental veneers or bonding may be the better options to restore your teeth to sparkling white.

How Much Am I Willing To Spend On A Treatment?
The cost of teeth whitening can vary a lot depending on types of treatment you are looking at. For inexpensive teeth whitening, over-the-counter products may cost anything from around $20 to $100. However, a visit to your local dentist will cost you from $400 to $1000 or more, depending on whether you are going for a normal bleaching treatment or a laser whitening treatment.

What Are The Potential Risks That I Should Know Of?
While teeth whitening is generally safe, but some people may experience gum soreness or tooth sensitivity with the use of teeth whitening products. In some extreme cases, patients may suffer blistering of the lips after an in-office power bleaching with laser.

How Fast Do I Expect Results?
If you want fast results under an hour, an in-office teeth whitening treatment offers the best solution. For at-home teeth whitening kits, most people see visible results after 1 to 3 weeks of usage.

Finally, after considering your own needs and budgets, one of these methods may represent the best way to whiten your teeth:

In-Office Whitening Procedures
The biggest draw for an in-office teeth whitening or power bleaching is that it can help whiten your teeth by 5 to 10 shades in an hour. Results generally can last from 1 to 2 years. Typically, to help keep your teeth looking their best, your dentist may also recommend the continued usage of some teeth whitening products to help maintain the whiteness of the teeth. However, if you suffer from really bad tooth discolorations, you may need to go back for more follow-up treatments.

Teeth Whitening Kits And Strips
There are several teeth whitening kits and strips available on the market that produce consistent good results and are recommended by some professional dentists. In fact, most people who use at-home teeth whitening kits find that they are convenient and inexpensive, and can sometimes come in handy for emergency purposes such as a short-notice party or a date. However, to achieve whiter teeth, you will need to use the kits over a period of 1 to 3 weeks to achieve the maximum result since they contain a lower concentration level of peroxide than what is normally use in a treatment at your dental office.

Tooth Whitening Toothpaste
Teeth whitening toothpastes are the least effective when it comes to whitening your teeth. However they are really cheap and easy to use, and can be useful as a supplement to help maintain the whiteness of your teeth especially after you have already used any one of the other more powerful teeth whitening options.

Ultimately, there will be many various factors that will influence your final decision on the best way to whiten your teeth. After all, a method that maybe suitable for you may not represent the best choice for the other person and most importantly, no teeth whitening treatments or products is going to be effective without your own efforts at taking consistent care of your teeth.