![]() ![]() ![]() The types of changes found include: increased surface roughness, increased porosity and loss of microhardness. Some dental researchers have reported significant changes in tooth enamel samples exposed to peroxide whiteners, others only minor to none. ▲ Section references – ADA D) Does it damage tooth enamel? The following facts might help to put any concerns you have at ease. These concerns are based on the fact that they release molecules known as “free radicals,” which might damage a cell’s DNA. It’s been postulated that the use of whitening gels might cause cancer of the soft tissues of the mouth. It delivers a hydrogen peroxide equivalent of about 3.5%. What are the safety concerns of peroxide whiteners?Īs a point of reference, the safety issues discussed here are with the use of a 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching agent in mind (like that used with the entry-level tray-whitening kits dispensed by most dentists). This helps the manufacturer to ensure product quality and consistency at the consumer’s end. ![]() Then why is carbamide peroxide used?Ĭarbamide peroxide can be used in whitener formulations because when it’s exposed to water it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide (and urea), which then breaks down and creates the whitening effect as described above.Ĭarbamide peroxide is used because it’s a comparatively stable compound. The specific compound that breaks down to release free radicals is hydrogen peroxide. ▲ Section references – Carey, Kugel It’s hydrogen peroxide that creates tooth whitening. While it may take a low-concentration whitener more individual treatments to deliver the same total number of free radicals, either a low or high concentration product will create the same whitening endpoint.Since the byproducts that result from this process reflect light differently (are colorless), the tooth receives a lightening effect.In doing so, the bonds holding the organic compound together are broken.) (In chemistry terms, the free radicals steal electrons from the organic compounds to find a pairing electron for their single one. The free radicals then, in turn, react with and break down chromogenic (colored) organic compounds that have become entrapped in a tooth’s enamel.(For those who know a little chemistry, free radicals have an unpaired electron, which explains their potent reactivity.) The peroxide breaks down and releases highly reactive molecules termed “free radicals.”.With whitening gels, it’s their peroxide component that’s the active ingredient in creating their tooth-bleaching effect, via a chemical process referred to as a re-dox (oxidation-reduction) reaction. The vast majority of dentists in this country offer it as a service because they know it has been time-tested.īackground – How do peroxide whiteners work? That’s why tray-based technique has gained such widespread acceptance by the dental community as a whole. Since then, numerous studies have documented that, while it does have the potential to create side effects, it is safe to use. Tray-based technique utilizing a 10% carbamide peroxide whitening gel (the basic system dispensed by dentists and the one we discuss on our pages) was first introduced in 1989. ![]()
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