I don’t generally recommend whitening mouthwashes because they taste gross (thanks, hydrogen peroxide – there are peroxide free ones like Crest, but they don’t work as well, in my opinion), and hydrogen peroxide also makes me nervous when used daily because it can have a damaging effect on tissues (although concentrations in rinse are very low 1-2%).

In the end, the main reason I don’t recommend these mouthrinses comes down to the fact that actual lightening of your tooth color will require stronger peroxide strengths, either using OTC strips such as Crest white strips or via a professional whitening treatment at the dental office (hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide at 10-30% strengths).

The whitening mouth wash, then, serves more as a stabilizer and could help reduce new staining if you’re, say, addicted to drinking coffee or tea or wine. But it’s not likely that it will lighten your teeth by an entire shade. For that, you need stronger peroxides that are applied via strips or trays (home or in office).

I like this ACT whitening rinse because it also contains .02% fluoride (although not as high of an amount as ACT anticavity rinse which has .05%) and xylitol for cavity-fighting effects in addition to whitening. It’s also dye, SLS, and alcohol free.