In our quest for a whiter smile, a number of products have come out in recent years to help people whiten and brighten their teeth. From strips to toothpastes to veneer covers for your teeth, deciding which route to take for teeth whitening can be confusing.

As a general rule, no product you can buy off the shelf will give you the results your dentist can during an in-office visit. This is because dentists can use products and procedures available only to them to whiten teeth, and these procedures typically whiten teeth up to 8 shades lighter. Off the shelf whitening products will still work to whiten teeth, but it may not be as dramatic.

Off the shelf whitening systems are not right for everyone. People who have severely discolored or yellowed teeth will not notice much of a difference from off the shelf products. But people who just want to whiten their teeth a few shades will see a difference from over the counter products.

What is available?
As ultra-white teeth have increased in popularity in recent years, the number of off the shelf whitening products available today has increased dramatically. Some of these products include:

Whitening toothpastes
The majority of toothpastes have some sort of whitening agents in them, and these are probably the least effective of all the over the shelf products. They typically only whiten teeth about a shade, which in most cases isn't enough to notice a difference. This is because toothpastes don't contain bleaching agents that other whitening products have, so they only work to remove surface stains, not the deeper staining that causes discoloring. They are also the cheapest, at about $2-3 a container.

Whitening Strips
Perhaps the most popular off the shelf tooth whitening system, whitening strips come in a variety of brands with a variety of different strengths and times you spend applying them. Typically, you put them on twice a day from anywhere between 3 days to 14, with results noticeable after several days. These products contain peroxide, which will help to whiten the teeth to some degree (more than toothpaste but less than a dentist's visit). Results typically last at least six months.

Whitening gels
Whitening gels typically involve a small container of peroxide that you paint over the surface of your teeth with a small brush twice a day and leave on. The entire procedure takes about 2 weeks. These gels are generally effective as the gel manages to stay on the teeth longer than other products.

At-home bleaching trays
At-home bleaching trays consist of a one-size-fits-all mouth tray and a peroxide-based bleaching gel. The gel is applied to the tray and the tray is worn an hour or so a night for a week or two, depending on the level of whitening desired. While these will also achieve some degree of whitening, they are not recommended as it's important to have a custom tray made to fit your mouth specifically, rather than a generic one, which can lead to uneven whitening.

Off-the-shelf whitening products are effective for those who don't have severely discolored teeth and want to lighten their teeth a few shades.