Colgate created an entire line of products that are dedicated to teeth whitening called Optic White. These whitening products include multiple toothpaste formulations, a mouthwash, and a pen.
The biggest question on your mind is do they actually work? Will Colgate optic white whiten your teeth or is there no difference when compared to their regular line of products?
We’re going to do a deep dive into how teeth whitening works and whether or not each of these products do what they allege to. Buckle up because we’re taking you on a Colgate whitening journey.
The entire suite of Colgate Optic White products
Colgate has packaged all of their optic white products into a bright red packaging to help you distinguish them easily. It consists of multiple toothpaste formulations, a whitening mouth rinse, and a whitening pen with a LED light.
- Optic White stain fighter whitening toothpaste
- Optic White charcoal toothpaste
- Optic White overnight teeth whitening pen
- Optic White advanced whitening toothpaste
- Optic White pro series whitening toothpaste
- Optic White pro series LED kit
- Optic White renewal whitener toothpaste
- Optic White advanced whitening mouthwash
These products differ based on their ingredients and how they are meant to be used. However, the end result is supposed to be the same in that they leave you with whiter teeth than when you started.
Does Colgate Optic White really work?
Colgate optic white does work because it does possess the ability to remove stains from your teeth, thus making them whiter. It contains all of the whitening ingredients needed to whiten your teeth in toothpaste.
According to the American Dental Association (ADA), the accumulation of extrinsic and intrinsic stains are what makes teeth yellow. The extrinsic stains can be removed mechanically by brushing with abrasives. The intrinsic stains require a chemical agent such as hydrogen peroxide that can diffuse through the tooth to oxidize them.
All whitening toothpastes utilize an abrasive system so they can all remove extrinsic stains by default. Different toothpastes may use a different abrasive but they all function the same way by mechanically abrading stains. That is essentially how all whitening toothpastes work.
However, not all whitening products contain hydrogen peroxide which is necessary to oxidize intrinsic stains. The only way to get rid of the intrinsic stains is via a chemical agent that can traverse through the tooth to reach these deeply embedded internal stains. Peroxide works wonders in that it can also get rid of extrinsic stains as well.
Since teeth become yellow due to a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic stains, the whitening products that can remove both would obviously be more effective. Logically that makes sense because if you’re only able to get rid of one type of stain but not the other, then its not as effective! That is the reason why your teeth may still be yellow despite brushing everyday.
Therefore the question is which of the optic white products remove what type of stains?
Which Optic White product removes which stains?
Surprise surprise but not all of the Colgate optic white products will get rid of both extrinsic and intrinsic stains. Some of them will only remove the extrinsic while leaving the intrinsic ones intact.
The determinant factor for whether it can oxidize the internal stains is if it contains peroxide. In addition to that, the efficacy of the oxidation is highly dependent upon the concentration of hydrogen peroxide.
Now without further ado, let’s explore what each of these products have to offer and what they can do to make your teeth less yellow.
Optic White stain fighter whitening toothpaste
This toothpaste is marketed as their non-hydrogen peroxide product. This dentifrice is supposed to remove 6x more stains from their micro-polishing action. In other words, the abrasive system within it should be 6x more effective at getting rid of extrinsic stains.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – No.
What stains does it remove? – Extrinsic only.
How do you use it? – Brush for two minutes twice a day.
Optic White charcoal toothpaste
Since activated charcoal teeth whitening has been a trend, Colgate has decided to release their own iteration of it. Similar to the stain fighter, it alleges that it can remove up to 6x more stains due to their micro-polishing ability. In other words, it uses an abrasive system.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – No but it contains charcoal!
What stains does it remove? – Extrinsic ones only.
How do you use it? – Brush for two minutes twice a day.
Optic White overnight teeth whitening pen
This concept is similar to the tide pen where you can bleach stained spots on your clothing. The only difference is that this will whiten your teeth instead of your clothing.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – Yes, it contains 3% hydrogen peroxide.
What stains does it remove? – Extrinsic and intrinsic.
How do you use it?
- Click the pen until the brush tip is wet
- Apply to the front facing surfaces of your teeth.
- Go to bed and sleep.
- Brush your teeth normally to get rid of the whitening film on your teeth.
Optic White advanced whitening toothpaste
The first toothpaste that contains hydrogen peroxide. The official statement is that it can whiten inside and out, which implies that it can remove more than just extrinsic stains. It will result in teeth that are four shades whiter after six weeks of bi-daily use.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – Yes, there is 2% hydrogen peroxide in it.
What stains does it remove? – Extrinsic and intrinsic stains.
How do you use it? – Brush for two minutes twice a day for at least six weeks. However you may continue to use it as your primary toothpaste.
Optic White pro series whitening toothpaste
This is their professional grade toothpaste and it is categorized as such because it has the highest concentration of hydrogen peroxide. It will whiten inside and out, thus resulting in up to 10x whiter teeth. They also claim that they can remove up to 15 years of stain with just two weeks of use!
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – Yes, it has 5% hydrogen peroxide.
What stains does it remove? – Both types of staining, intrinsic and extrinsic.
How do you use it? – You just need to brush with it for at least two minutes twice a day. You have to use it for at least 2 weeks but you can continue to use it as a daily toothpaste.
Optic White pro series LED kit
The LED kit is more of an adjunct product to their optic white line. It only contains the LED light with the tray. You’re supposed to use it in conjunction with the whitening pen. The purpose of this is to imitate the trend of ZOOM whitening products which utilizes a LED light to speed up whitening.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – No because it is just a LED light.
What stains does it remove? – Does not remove any stains on its own.
How do you use it?
- Apply the whitening pen as usual.
- Insert LED tray into your mouth.
- Activate it for 10 minutes.
- Remove from your mouth and go to bed.
- Brush your teeth to remove residual whitening gel.
Optic White renewal whitener toothpaste
The optic white renewal toothpaste is different than all the other products in that it can rebuild your damaged tooth enamel while simultaneously whitening them. It is able to make these claims because it actually contains the highest concentration of fluoride out of all of them.
The renewal toothpaste contains 0.18% fluoride ions which is more than the pro series that only has 0.13%. In comparison, even the optic white stain fighter toothpaste only has 0.15% fluoride ions while the advanced whitening has 0.12%.
Therefore it does indeed contain the most fluoride and can claim to repair your teeth the most out of the rest of the optic white line. This is their nod to how whitening toothpaste is not bad for your teeth!
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – The renewal has 3% hydrogen peroxide.
What stains does it remove? – Extrinsic stains and intrinsic stains.
How do you use it? – Brush for at least two minutes twice a day.
Optic White advanced whitening mouthwash
This is a mouthwash that is alcohol free but it does contain hydrogen peroxide. In addition to whitening your teeth it also serves a dual purpose of fighting bad breath.
Does it contain hydrogen peroxide? – The mouth rinse has 2% hydrogen peroxide.
What stains does it remove? – Both intrinsic and extrinsic.
How do you use it?
- Measure out 15 mL or 3 teaspoonfuls.
- Rinse vigorously for 60 seconds.
- Spit out and do it twice per day.
Colgate Optic White products ranked by whitening prowess
The most effective Colgate whitening product would be the Optic White pro series toothpaste since it contains the most hydrogen peroxide. It is also currently the best whitening toothpaste on the market.
Obviously the best whitening product would be one that can remove both types of teeth staining, extrinsic and intrinsic. The ones without peroxide can only get rid of the exterior stains while leaving the interior ones untouched. This automatically makes the peroxide based products superior.
Ranking from most effective at whitening to least:
- Optic white pro series
- Optic white renewal / whitening pen
- Optic white advanced whitening
- Optic white mouthwash
- Optic white charcoal
- Optic white stain fighter
The LED kit is not ranked since it doesn’t actually contain any whitening ingredients. There is no peroxide nor is there any abrasives. It is only supposed to enhance the whitening pen’s effects.
The Verdict – Does Colgate optic white work in whitening your teeth?
The short answer is yes, they definitely do make your teeth whiter. All of them will remove extrinsic stains on your teeth but some of them can even get rid of the intrinsic stains as well. It all depends on whether or not they have peroxide within them.
The ones with peroxide will always be more effective than the ones without since they can oxidize intrinsic stains in addition to the extrinsic. After that, the next ranking factor would be, which one has the greatest concentration of hydrogen peroxide.
That is basically the formula to determine which optic white product is the most potent at making your teeth less yellow.