Whitening Toothpaste — What It Can and Can't Do for Your Teeth

Whitening toothpaste works mainly by polishing surface stains off your teeth, not by bleaching them, so it can make coffee- and tea-stained teeth look cleaner and brighter but cannot change the natural colour inside the tooth. The ADA says whitening toothpastes "primarily rely on abrasives for mechanical removal of extrinsic surface stains, though some contain low levels of peroxide".

That makes the best whitening toothpaste the one that fits your stains and your gums, not the one with the boldest claim. For many people it is also the cheapest step worth taking before any kit, and the toothpaste you pick pays us nothing because we do not link any.

Surface stains versus colour inside the tooth

The distinction that decides whether a toothpaste will help is where the discolouration sits. The ADA separates extrinsic stains, which build up on the enamel surface, from intrinsic stains, which sit inside the enamel or the dentin underneath.

Extrinsic stains come mostly from what we eat, drink and smoke. The ADA lists tobacco, red wine, coffee, tea, cola drinks and dark fruits, along with poor oral hygiene. Intrinsic discolouration has different causes: ageing, as enamel thins and the yellower dentin shows through; some antibiotics taken in childhood; fluorosis; decay; old metal fillings; or a tooth whose nerve has died.

The ADA says some over-the-counter products, including toothpastes and chewing gums, work mainly on surface stains "and will not have a significant impact on intrinsic stains or the intrinsic color of the tooth". If your teeth have yellowed evenly with age, a toothpaste is unlikely to be the fix.

How whitening toothpaste works

Most whitening toothpastes clean stains off rather than lightening the tooth. Mild abrasives scrub the surface, and some formulas add ingredients that help lift or prevent stains.

Some add a low level of peroxide. In the UK and EU, any toothpaste is capped at 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, present or released, under the same rule that governs whitening kits, so a UK or EU toothpaste cannot carry the strength of a dentist's gel. The contact time is also short: a two-minute brush and a rinse is very different from a strip worn for 45 minutes.

What the evidence says

The evidence for whitening toothpaste is modest. The ADA summarises a 2020 systematic review that found limited evidence that whitening toothpastes had similar efficacy to paint-on gels but less efficacy than whitening strips, with comparable side effects such as sensitivity and oral irritation.

That fits the chemistry. A product that mainly removes surface staining can make a real visible difference if surface staining is your problem, and very little difference if it is not.

What to look for on the label

Choose a whitening toothpaste the way you would choose any toothpaste, with the whitening claim as a secondary feature. These are the checks we would make.

• Fluoride. A whitening toothpaste is still your daily toothpaste, so it should do the everyday job too.
• The ADA Seal, if you are in the US. The ADA says products bearing its Seal include toothpastes, and that the Seal means the company has shown the product meets the programme's safety and effectiveness requirements when used as directed. Look for the Seal on the pack or search the ADA's list.
• The claim wording. "Removes surface stains" is an honest description of what most whitening toothpastes do. Claims about changing the colour of the tooth itself deserve more scepticism.
• Your gums and sensitivity. If your teeth are sensitive, ask a dentist which toothpaste suits you before using a whitening formula every day.

We deliberately do not name a "best" whitening toothpaste. We could not read independent comparisons of individual toothpastes at a source we could cite, and a ranking without them would be guesswork.

Whitening mouthwash and chewing gum

Mouthwashes and gums sold for whitening sit alongside toothpaste as everyday products. The 2018 Cochrane review of home whitening included a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash and two whitening chewing gums among the agents it pooled, and found the agents as a group whitened teeth compared with a placebo, with low- to very-low-certainty evidence.

The ADA groups chewing gums with toothpastes as products that act mainly on surface stains. As with toothpaste, treat them as help against new staining rather than a way to change the colour inside the tooth.

Charcoal toothpaste and DIY "whiteners"

Charcoal and home remedies are the part of this category most likely to do harm. The ADA says there is insufficient evidence that charcoal-based oral care products provide measurable whitening benefit with adequate safety and effectiveness.

It also cites a report in which a charcoal and table-salt mixture was abrasive and ineffective, leaving deep abrasion cavities on the front teeth and a yellower look as enamel was worn away. A study it cites of a strawberry and baking-soda mixture found no measurable whitening. Oil pulling has no documented whitening effect, according to the ADA, and has been linked to adverse events. Scrubbing harder with a gritty paste is a way to lose enamel, not to gain whiteness.

When toothpaste is enough, and when it is not

Toothpaste is often enough when your teeth are healthy and your concern is staining from coffee, tea, wine or tobacco. Paired with a professional clean, which removes staining brushing misses, it may give you all the change you want, and neither pays us anything.

Toothpaste is not enough when the colour has changed inside the tooth, which is typical of ageing, or when one tooth has darkened on its own; the second needs a dentist's opinion before anything else. For intrinsic yellowing in healthy teeth, a bleaching product is the next step. Our guide to whether whitening strips work explains what peroxide can reach, and our ranking of the best teeth whitening kits compares the strips and trays themselves.

Using whitening toothpaste alongside a kit

A whitening toothpaste is a sensible companion to a whitening course, because it helps keep new surface stains down while the kit works on the colour underneath. Crest suggests using a whitening toothpaste once or twice a day while using whitening products.

Two cautions apply. Do not brush immediately before applying a strip, since most strip instructions advise against it; our guide on how to use whitening strips explains the timing. And if your teeth become sensitive during a course, a gentler routine for a few days is better than more scrubbing.