Buy It And Try It: White Light

The White Light claims to use light technology to whiten your teeth
fast. Let's see if it works.

Lauren Hockenson says white teeth are everywhere.

"You see celebrities and stuff, supermodels," Lauren says. "[They]
have white teeth."

And this 16-year-old would like to have a bright smile too, but…

"It's really expensive."

Professionals charge hundreds of dollars for the service. The
infomercial for White Light claims the $20 system works at home in
just 10-minutes. Can light really whiten teeth?

We'll see, with the help of Sutter Terrace Dental Group and Dr. Chris
Cantrell, who is skeptical a tiny battery-operated light can whiten
teeth.

"It seems too good to be true," says Dr. Cantrell.

We start out by checking the shade of Lauren's teeth. Dr. Cantrell
determines that she's at a "C2 shade." He opens the packet.

It comes with a special gel and tray. The directions state Lauren
first has to brush her teeth. Right away, Dr. Cantrell has
reservations with the tray because it isn't custom fitting.

"It's hard to say how it's going to stay put and not get on the gum
tissue," he says.

He then puts the special whitening solution on the tray, and he's
familiar with the ingredients. Is it different than what he uses?

"It isn't in the sense of the ingredients," says Dr. Cantrell. "The
only thing we don't know is what the concentration of the solution
is."

Lauren puts the trays in her mouth, and then attaches the special
light, which automatically stays on for 10 minutes.

While we wait, I read some of the paperwork that comes with it. The
amount of gel included is good for three to five sessions, then you
have to buy more for $14.99.

10 minutes go by, and the light goes off. Lauren takes it out.

"This is nasty," she says. After rising, she checks out her pearly
whites. Do they look any whiter?

"Uh, not particularly," she says. "It does look like on the edge it
might be a little lighter."
Let's check the exact shade.

"She doesn't look like she changed a whole lot," says Dr. Cantrell.
"Maybe a little bit toward this end. Slightly."

She's one, possibly two shades lighter, but just on the edges, not the
entire tooth. The doctor admits it could get lighter even more if she
keeps using it.

But neither Lauren nor the doctor would recommend the white light. The
doctor believes any results we got were from the solution, not the
light.

"The light just seems kind of like a gimmick," says Dr. Cantrell.

Lauren thought it was too messy. Fortunately she had a bright smile
from the start.