Should You Brush Before Or After Whitening Strips?
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Should you brush before or after whitening strips? Before. With our PAP strips, brush your teeth first, dry them with a towel, then apply the strips: the smaller strip on your lower teeth first, then the larger one on your upper teeth, pressed firmly, for a minimum of 30 minutes. Do not eat while they are on, though a sip of water is fine. When you take them off, rinse with water, then avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food for about an hour. Our directions do not add a brush after the strips. If you are using another brand's strips, follow the directions on that box, because they can differ.
The short answer
Whether you call them whitening strips or white strips, the order on our box is the same: brush first, strips second.
- Before: brush your teeth, then dry them with a towel rather than a tissue.
- While they are on: no eating. A sip of water is fine, and so is swallowing saliva.
- Taking them off: remove the strips and rinse with water.
- The hour after: avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food for about an hour.
- Brushing afterwards: not part of our directions. Your usual brushing routine carries on as normal.
The sections below take each step in turn, then the questions about eating and brushing once the strips are off.
Should you brush teeth before whitening strips?
Yes. Brushing is the first step in the directions printed on our box: brush your teeth, then take the strips out of the sachet. Brushing first means the strip goes on to teeth you have just cleaned.
The NHS page on keeping your teeth clean is general advice rather than advice about whitening, but it sets out what brushing is for. It describes plaque as "a film of bacteria that coats your teeth if you don't brush them properly" and says: "Tooth brushing stops plaque building up."
Do you need to wait between brushing and applying the strips?
Our directions run straight from one to the other: brush, take the strips out of the sachet, dry your teeth, apply. They do not include a waiting time. Other products come with their own directions, which may not match ours on this point, so for another brand's strips, the box in your hand is the one to follow.
What to brush with
Our directions do not name a toothpaste. If you are choosing one, a mild, non-abrasive toothpaste suits, and a sensitivity toothpaste is fine to use alongside our strips. The NHS advice is to "Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day for about 2 minutes to help keep your teeth and mouth healthy."
Drying your teeth with a towel after brushing
The second step on the box is to dry your teeth. Use a towel rather than a tissue, and pat them dry before the strips go on.
Pure Glow strips are dry-fit and grip even on wet teeth. Their no-slip grip keeps the formula in place, so the result is more even and less patchy. Drying is still part of the directions. Sliding is a problem with wet-fit, gel-coated strips, and drying the teeth is the usual workaround for those.
While the strip is on, the formula is at work. Our strips use PAP, which is peroxide free, and it still works on the coloured compounds inside the tooth, just by a gentler route than peroxide takes. There is more on that in how PAP whitening works and on our page about peroxide-free whitening strips.
The full routine, in order
These are the directions on our box, with our own guidance on drying, wear time, eating and drinking added in:
- Brush your teeth, then take the strips out of the sachet.
- Dry your teeth with a towel rather than a tissue.
- Apply the smaller strip to your lower teeth first, then the larger one to your upper teeth, and press firmly.
- Leave them on for a minimum of 30 minutes. Longer is fine and uses all the formula.
- Do not eat while they are on. A sip of water is fine, and so is swallowing saliva. Do not swallow the strips.
- Remove them and rinse with water.
- Then avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food for about an hour.
The wear time is a minimum, not a range. Our founder often wears his for 45 minutes to an hour, which is his habit rather than the instruction. Any time of day suits, and because the strips come off clean, a morning strip before work is fine.
Our guide on how to use teeth whitening strips goes through applying them step by step. A 14-day box of PAP strips holds 28 strips, which is one set a day for 14 days.
The brushing order is the same on every day of the course. For the schedule itself, from the 14 days to top-ups afterwards, see our guide on how often to use whitening strips. If you wear Invisalign or a retainer, you can use the strips, but not while the aligners or retainer are in.
Can you eat with whitening strips on?
No. Do not eat while the strips are on. A sip of water is fine, and so is swallowing saliva. Do not swallow the strips themselves.
If you are planning when to wear them, it is simplest to put them on at a time when you would not be eating for half an hour or more anyway. Brushing comes first either way, so the strips can follow your morning or evening brush.
Can you eat after whitening strips?
Yes, once the strips are off and you have rinsed with water. For about an hour after that, avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food. Anything else is not covered by that hour.
That hour is the same whether you are on day 1 of the course or on a top-up later. If coffee or tea is part of your day, we have looked at how coffee and tea stain teeth in a separate guide.
What about drinks?
A sip of water is fine with the strips on, and water is fine once they are off. Coffee, tea and red wine wait for about an hour after the strips come off.
Should you brush your teeth after whitening strips?
Our directions finish with removing the strips and rinsing with water. They do not include brushing afterwards, and they do not set a rule for when you next brush. So the answer is to keep to your usual routine.
For that routine, the NHS says: "Brush your teeth twice a day for about 2 minutes each time. Brush them last thing before you go to bed, as night-time brushing is important, and on 1 other occasion." Our directions do not change either of those times. If your strips go on after your evening brush, for example, the order is still brush, dry, strips, then rinse.
If irritation occurs
The warnings on our box say not to use the strips with gum disease, ulcers, exposed gums or recent oral surgery, and that if irritation occurs, stop and let it settle, and see a dentist if it persists. None of that changes with the brushing order.
Our strips are peroxide free and clinically tested for zero sensitivity, and there is more on that on our page about whitening strips for sensitive teeth. Where a strip sits against the gum line is covered in our guide to why whitening strips hurt your gums.
Frequently asked questions
Should I brush my teeth before using whitening strips?
Yes. Brush, then dry your teeth with a towel, then apply the strips. Brushing is the first step on our box.
Do you brush your teeth before or after whitening strips?
Before. Our directions do not include brushing after the strips. After you take them off, rinse with water and avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food for about an hour.
Do you brush teeth before whitening strips even at night?
Yes. The order is the same at any time of day: brush, dry with a towel, then the strips.
Whitening strips before or after brushing: which comes first?
Brushing comes first: brush, dry your teeth with a towel, then apply the smaller strip to your lower teeth and the larger one to your upper teeth, and press firmly.
Should I brush my teeth after using whitening strips?
Our directions do not include it. They end with removing the strips and rinsing with water. Keep to your usual brushing routine.
Do I have to wait after brushing before I put the strips on?
Our directions do not include a wait: brush, take the strips out of the sachet, dry your teeth and apply. For another brand's strips, follow the directions on that box.
Can you eat after whitening strips?
Yes, once they are off and you have rinsed with water. Avoid coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food for about an hour.
How long after whitening strips can I eat?
Once the strips are off and you have rinsed, you can eat. The hour applies to coffee, tea, red wine and strongly coloured food.
Can I drink water with whitening strips on?
Yes, a sip of water is fine. Do not eat while they are on.
Do I rinse after whitening strips?
Yes. The last step on our box is to remove the strips and rinse with water.
Ready to start whitening?
One box is a full 14 day treatment. Two boxes cover 28 days for less per strip. Free UK delivery on every order.
Related reading:
Sources:
- NHS, How to keep your teeth clean, page last reviewed 30 June 2025. For what brushing is for, fluoride toothpaste and when to brush.