Get Pearly Whites Without A Dentist Visit: 4 Ways To Whiten Your Teeth In Pictures

There’s something to be said for mysterious selfies that entice your followers to leave a comment. But you know what else makes you look attractive?

A smile — a real one! Actually, 69% of people will find you more attractive when you smile (that’s a bigger boost than for people who apply makeup, btw).

A smile looks great on everyone, but not everybody feels great about their smile, even in a selfie. After a decade of alternating between wine and coffee (and a few bottles of water here and there), your pearly whites are probably not-so-white, and you might be tempted to edit your smile.

Yeah, you could pay hundreds of dollars for fancy treatments, but unless your student loans are magically paid off, that’s probably not happening any time soon. Understand your motivation behind getting a whiter smile and try these four ways to make it happen (without a dentist appointment).

Why do white teeth matter, anyway?

We aren’t here to make you self-conscious about your smile. If you’re happy to rock your teeth as they are, go for it! The world wants to see your smile, and if you’re happy to show it, they’re happy to know it.

The thing is that most adults aren’t happy with their smile. A whopping 80% of U.S. adults want whiter teeth.

Curious why people want whiter teeth? It’s usually because:

• Dentists are expensive. Insurance might cover your twice-annual cleaning, but teeth whitening? You're paying for that solo, babe, and it’s going to cost $300+ to get a red-carpet-ready smile. Yikes.
• DIY whitening kits suck. Well, they do. No matter what brand you go with, too much at-home whitening can destroy your enamel. That ish doesn’t grow back, guys, so if you don’t want to risk long-term damage, don’t do it.
• It’s about confidence! 60% of people say that a whiter smile would give them a confidence boost. When we talk about whitening your teeth, it’s not your smile that’s the "problem." The core of the issue is a lack of confidence, and if whitening your teeth will make you love taking selfies again, we say go for it.

We live in a smile-loving culture. A nice smile makes you look professional and sexy. (It also hints that you’re a pro at #adulting and you floss regularly!)

How to whiten your teeth in selfie photos

If you’re cool with your smile as-is, show it off to the world. But if you’re like the majority of folks, you might want to whiten your smile before posting your selfie.

The best way to whiten your teeth is to use a selfie editor app to quickly, painlessly, and affordably get the smile of your dreams.

Not sure how to make that happen? Use Facetune to get better, whiter teeth in a flash.

1 - The Whiten setting

If we’re honest, the best (and easiest) way to whiten your teeth after snapping a selfie is with Facetune’s Whiten setting. The app does all of the hard work, automatically detecting your teeth and brightening them in a tap.

Here’s how it works:

1. After taking a great picture of yourself, open Facetune on your phone.
2. Touch the image icon in the top left corner, find the photo you want to edit, and select it.
3. Once your image uploads, scroll through Facetune’s tools to the Whiten option.
4. You’ve got two choices here. You can either whiten your teeth instantly with the Auto feature or you can handle things manually for a more subtle look. If you chose Auto, congrats! You’re done.
5. If you want to manually whiten your teeth, go to Whiten and swipe over your teeth. Use the slider to enhance or minimize the amount of whitening you’d like to use. You might need to zoom in on your photo so you can be more accurate.
6. Tap the checkmark icon in the bottom right corner to save your changes.
7. You’re done! Share your selfie with the world by downloading it from the icon in the top right corner of your app.

2 - Create the illusion of whiter teeth

If you’ve already whitened your teeth in Facetune and you feel like it’s still not quite there, you can use a clever illusion to make your teeth seem brighter.

It’s super simple: Give yourself a bright shade of lipstick. Have you ever wondered why fire-engine-red lipstick always makes your LBD pop? It's because bright lipstick makes both your teeth and your smile look amazing.

You don't need to make a run to the CVS at the corner, either. Facetune lets you add or change your makeup in the app without opening a tube of lipstick. Here's how it works:

1. Open Facetune and go to the Makeup tool.
2. Drag your picture so it zooms in on your lips.
3. Tap on the Blush tool and, using short strokes, add color to your lips. If you aren’t feeling a particular shade, scroll through a few different options or use the Color Picker to get the right shade.
4. If you want a sharper line that mimics lip liner, tap on the Liner tool to add a solid outline of color after you’ve colored in your lips.

Bam, done! Use Facetune's Makeup tool to add a flush of color to your lips—it’s great for a vibrant smile that turns heads (and gets likes).

3 - Defocus the background

Is your selfie highlighting your gorgeous face or the old crumbling building behind you? You need all eyes on your amazing smile, and sometimes that means changing the focus of your selfie.

If you forgot to adjust the focus of a photo while snapping it, don’t worry. Facetune lets you add a pro-level blur that makes the background more subtle, bringing everyone’s attention back to what matters — your cute smile.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open Facetune and go to the Defocus tool.
2. We like to use the Auto Defocus option, which automatically defocuses the background with one tap. Easy, right?
3. If you want more control, you can drag your finger across the background to choose which areas to defocus. You can adjust the slider bar to change the intensity, too.
4. Make a mistake? Use the Erase tool to undo your selection.

Sometimes a background enhances your selfie, but you don’t want it to be the star of the show, right? Keep the focus on your smile by limiting the distractions in your selfie, and that starts with downplaying your background.

4 - Make your smile bigger

Did you forget to smile nice and big when you snapped your selfie? Usually that means you’ve got to retake the whole picture again, which is a bummer. But you can also just get a bigger smile with a tap by using Facetune:

1. Open Facetune and go to Face > Smile.
2. Use the slider to gradually lift the corners of your mouth. This will give the impression that your smile is bigger, showing off those great teeth!
3. But know when to stop. Don’t go too crazy here or you'll end up with a scary Joker smile.

Let your smile do the talking. Your teeth will appear brighter and whiter if you give them more real estate in your photo. In a pinch, lift the edges of your mouth with Facetune for better teeth (it’ll be our little secret).

By the way, if you have a video clip, no worries, you can now whiten your teeth in videos as well!

The bottom line for whitening teeth in your selfie photos

Good selfies aren’t always about your outfit or makeup — sometimes an extra shot of confidence is the key to taking jaw-dropping pics you can be proud of. If you love your smile as-is, don’t change a thing! But for the folks who feel a little self-conscious or who need a confidence boost, use these four tried-and-true methods to whiten your teeth with Facetune.

Oh, and one more thing: If you're looking to whiten your teeth IRL, then this guide is for you.