About Shade Tally
Who writes Shade Tally, how we check what we print, how we are paid, and what we will not do.
Shade Tally is written by the Shade Tally editorial team. It is not written by, or with, a dentist, and no dentist has reviewed it. We say that at the top of every page because whitening is a health decision, and you should know exactly what kind of source you are reading.
What we are, and what we are not
We are a small team that reads labels, regulations and research summaries and writes them up plainly. We are not dentists, hygienists or pharmacists, and nothing here is a diagnosis, a treatment plan or dental advice. Only a licensed dentist who has examined you can tell you whether whitening suits your teeth.
We do not name a reviewer we do not have. If that changes, and a qualified dentist reviews pages, we will say who, which pages, and when.
How we check what we print
Every price, strength, rule and date on the site was read at its source, whether a regulator's text, a product page, or a research summary, and each one is dated. When a seller does not publish a figure, we say so and print nothing in its place. When we could not read a rule at the regulator's own text, we leave it out rather than repeat it from someone else.
Seller claims are attributed to the seller. We do not repeat shade counts, "clinically proven" percentages or "enamel-safe" labels as if we had checked them, because we have not.
How we rank
Our ranking of whitening kits weighs, in order: whether the seller discloses its active ingredient and strength, how much independent evidence covers that type of product, what the label says about age, sensitivity and restorations, and the price per treatment from the seller's own figures. Commission is not on that list. The option we rank first, trays from a dentist, pays us nothing.
How we are paid
Some links to products are affiliate links, which means a seller or Amazon may pay us if you buy after clicking. Each one is marked and explained on the page where it appears, and our disclosure page lists every seller we link and every category we refuse to link.
What we will not do
We will not publish testimonials, patient stories, ratings from people we cannot name, or before-and-after images. We will not recommend a salon, clinic or practice. We will not tell a teenager how to get around an age limit, and we will not suggest DIY methods such as charcoal scrubs or acidic home remedies.
Getting in touch
If you spot a figure that has changed, a rule we have wrong or a claim that reads as ours when it belongs to a seller, tell us and we will check it against the source and correct the page.