I am sitting in my living room with a piece of plastic wedged in my mouth in high hopes of having a whiter, brighter smile than I did before. I didn’t get a special-order whitening tray from the dentist; instead I bought Rembrandt’s 2-hour-whitening kit at the local drug store.

I don’t know if the Rembrandt whitening tray will be effective or not, but I do know that the kit I purchased at the store was more expensive than what I could find online HERE.  (Granted, that may not include the shipping price, and I was in a bit of a hurry to get my teeth whitened.)

The Rembrandt box reported that in two hours my teeth would be lighter. It’s two hours later and I don’t know what to say. My teeth look lighter, but is it just my perception? Did the Rembrandt 2-hour-whitening kit really make all that much of a difference to me and my slightly-stained teeth? (I know you’re dying to know.) Are my pearlies so white and shiny that everyone took note of me tonight?

Not quite.

I must say that my teeth are lighter, but when I went out tonight, no one complimented me on my teeth. I felt slightly more confident because they were a little whiter for my evening out, but not as white as I might have liked. I wanted a George Clooney kind of smile, and that’s just not happening without beaucoup bucks and a trip to the cosmetic dentist.

The Rembrandt whitening tray was, however, more effective than using Crest Whitening strips. My teeth are lighter now as a direct result of using the whitening tray from Rembrandt. They just aren’t white enough.

Do you have any special recommendations for teeth-whitening products that are effective and that don’t cost a fortune? Bright smiles are considered an important factor in a person’s appearance, but in today’s economy, it’s difficult to pay more for cosmetic dentistry than it is to pay for other things. 

I’ve tried baking soda and other inexpensive teeth-whitening results and have been less than satisfying to say the least, but in the case of teeth-whitening, I guess you get what you pay for, more or less. 

Would I try the teeth-whitening try again? Yes, I definitely would.