Beauty is Now

My grandma always taught me that if I wanted white teeth, I can do one of two things. Use charcoal – yes—charcoal, or use indigo. My grandma grew up in the West Indies, so maybe indigo was easy to get in her days. Even though I can get charcoal, I would feel weird rubbing something that will turn my teeth temporarily black in hopes that my teeth will whiten.

We, in the sophisticated US have other options right? We have those easy and sterile home based whitening systems that we can use at night to naturally whiten teeth. Hold on. Before running to the nearest drug store to buy these whitening trays, have we given any thought to teeth-whitening safety?

Tray Based Teeth Whitening Systems

Tray-based whitening systems usually use a 10% carbamide peroxide solution. Carbamide peroxide solution is similar to the hydrogen peroxide solutions we have sitting in the bathroom. (In fact, hydrogen peroxide is rumored to whiten teeth too.). So then why don’t we just use hydrogen peroxide in those whitening trays? Well, we can. However, hydrogen peroxide is less stable than Carbamide peroxide, Carbamide peroxide is made of hydrogen peroxide and urea. In the presence of water, it becomes hydrogen peroxide.

What are some of the side effects of teeth whitening?

Gum irritation- level of peroxide use, bleaching tray
Tooth sensitivity- may be due to the tooth nerve tissue becoming inflamed. It is usually transitory and occurs during the teeth whitening process. Bleaching trays can put pressure on teeth and gums.

Is teeth whitening worth the side effects? What say you?