I couldn’t help but notice that Sephora has been aggressively pushing the Glo Brilliant™ Personal Teeth Whitening Device. As I could with something to brighten my day, I have been taking a look and found that Glo Brilliant’s equally aggressive price tag of $275 is justified by some extraordinary claims including that this at home teeth whitening device will do a better job than professional cleaning by a dentist. Really? I dread the dentist and I can’t abide strips that fall off, clunky trays and nasty gels and so would love an alternative, but before dropping nearly three hundred bucks and I needed to be convinced that Glo Brilliant would work.

Glo Brilliant is a device that is inserted into the mouth and uses a technology called Guided Light Optics. Other than being told that this is heat and light (so is a toaster), there is no explanation on the Glo website as to what this is. Blue light teeth whitening has in the last year or so become a popular spa treatment. But the last time I looked into light as a teeth whitener, there was strong evidence that it isn’t such a bright idea. Researchers from the Nordic Institution of Dental Materials advised against using light-assisted tooth bleaching on the grounds that it didn’t work and may even have a dark side in that it can damage the eyes. This was in 2005 and a couple of years later a review of all the research on light assisted bleaching concluded that the data was inconclusive.

Of course, it is conceivable that Glo Brilliant has had a technological breakthrough since then. But if they have, they don’t say what and nor are there any references to clinical trials using this device. There doesn’t seem to have been much innovation with the gel that comes with the Glo device, despite costing $45 for 40 applications - it is common and garden hydrogen peroxide.

At this stage, I’m not convinced that Glo Brilliant will give me a dazzling smile. If anyone has used it, I’d love to hear from you.

Ingredients in Glo Brilliant Gel:

Water/Eau (Purifed/ Purifiée), PVP-Hydrogen Peroxide, Glycerin, VP/VA Copolymer, Poloxamer 407, Carbomer, Flavor (Aroma), Etidronic Acid, Ammonium Hydroxide, Sucralose, Sodium Stannate.