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How to Whiten Teeth in Photoshop: An easy step-by-step guide

Written by Timothy Brauning | March 25, 2022

Whether you’re a professional photographer or not, you have heard about Photoshop. Photoshop is a software that many people use to edit their photos. It's very popular, but some don't know how it works or what tools they can use for specific tasks like how to whiten teeth in Photoshop!

Because Photoshop allows you to edit photos in so many different ways, it's no surprise that teeth whitening has made its way into the program as well. 

After all, it's a fact that the majority of us want white teeth. It's said that people with whiter teeth are more attractive, and it's true. 

While bleaching at the dentist is expensive and can damage your teeth, learning how to whiten teeth in Photoshop is an inexpensive alternative to see results in just minutes of work. 

By following these steps, you can make a person's smile more attractive or whiten their teeth to look more natural.

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Table of Contents

So, here's how to whiten teeth in Photoshop!

Step 1: Select and open your image in Adobe Photoshop

First, you need to ensure that the image you need to alter is of high quality. 

Select File, Open, choose your image, and click Open.

One tip: An essential part of learning how to whiten teeth in Photoshop is making sure that you're not overdoing it. 

If you end up with teeth that are too white, you run the risk of looking a bit like a vampire, and we don't want that now (or, do we?)

Step 2: Use the Lasso Tool

Once you have opened the image, go to the left corner of the screen and select the Lasso Tool in the Toolbar panel

Next, draw a selection around each tooth with your mouse; don't worry about making any mistakes, you can fix inaccuracies later!

Once you've drawn a selection around all the teeth, the teeth will show up as a dashed-line selection, indicating that they were successfully selected.

 

Step 3: Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer

The next step you need to learn on how to whiten teeth in Photoshop is adding an adjustment layer.

To do that, go to the bottom right side of the window in the Layers panel and click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer button. 

It's that the half-black, half-white circle icon. 

This will pop up a menu of options for adding different types of adjustments(the Adjustment Layer options.)

Step 4: Adjust the layer options to Yellows

Click the Hue/Saturation layer's in Properties Panel.

Click where it says Master to bring up a drop-down menu, and select Yellows from the list.

By doing so, you're telling Photoshop that any changes you make on this particular layer will only affect the yellows in your selection. 

To see the change with different saturation and lightness settings, drag the Saturation slider down and the Lightness slider up, just like in the picture. 

That's how to whiten teeth in Photoshop!

You will see that the yellow color in your teeth fades away, and they become lighter. 

Focus on how bright you want your teeth to be by gently reducing the amount of whiteness.

Step 5: Check your result 

After making adjustments to your image, you should view the changes up close and from a distance. 

If your edits feel over the top or overtly tinted yellow, go back in and make necessary adjustments. 

After making the changes, check if it looks natural enough.

A side-by-side comparison test is an excellent way of checking the results and ensuring they are as expected.

Another way is to ask someone else who hasn't seen the original photo their opinion. If they don't notice anything different, you know you did a good job, and you are now officially a pro!

Now, you can teach others how to whiten teeth in Photoshop; it's that easy.

After you finish, you will have a result that looks like this!

Voila! Gorgeous White Teeth

Hopefully, you found this quick little tutorial to be helpful. 

After reading this, you should have a clear understanding of your options on how to whiten teeth in Photoshop. 

So next time you have a photo where the teeth could use some help, refer to this article to fix that problem with ease.

With the right tools and techniques, you'll be able to turn your typical portrait into a picture-perfect picture!

If you want to learn other Photoshop skills, be sure to check out this article on How To Remove White Backgrounds In Photoshop.

Read our blog Lightroom Vs. Photoshop: Which One Is For You? to check out another photo-editing software.

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