watch: we spoke to a dental hygienist about the #hydrogenperoxide #toothwhitening trend

proponents are diluting hydrogen peroxide with water, and then dabbing the mixture on their teeth with a q-tip. after a few minutes, they use toothpaste to brush the solution off. in a video that has 2.4 million views, tiktoker @valentinachang5 explains she brushes her teeth with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to get white teeth.

anaida deti, a registered dental hygienist and ceo of dentalx , warns that whitening teeth is not as simple as adding some peroxide to your oral care routine.

“[a dental professional will] do a proper checkup,” she says. “we make sure that…we have all the medical history to make sure that it’s not dangerous. we check dental health and made sure that the teeth whitening is proper for you and then we suggest the proper treatment, and then you decide what you want to do. ”

the goal is healthy teeth, not white teeth. getty

deti says that the perfect white movie star smile so many people aim for can only be achieved by veneers, which can run upwards of $1000 per tooth. instead of aiming for flawless white teeth at home, she recommends focusing on tooth health, which can be reasonably obtained by brushing twice a day, flossing once per day, and swishing with salt water.

tooth whitening: results may vary

one study that looked at the impact of different whitening treatments on tooth enamel found that the teeth were effectively whitened regardless of the peroxide concentration (samples ranged from 10 per cent carbamide peroxide — a bleaching agent that breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and urea — to 40 per cent hydrogen peroxide). however, products that contained lower peroxide concentrations, and thus, had to be left on teeth longer to achieve similar results, resulted in more damage to the enamel.

these findings were somewhat echoed in a different study which compared the effectiveness of a gel containing 10 per cent carbamide peroxide against a 1.5 per cent hydrogen peroxide solution (mouthwash). researchers found that while both substances significantly whitened the teeth, the 10 per cent gel resulted in greater brightness — although it is unclear if this is due to the concentration of the peroxide or the substance itself (gel versus a solution).

better first impressions

researchers at king’s college dental institute in the u.k. had participants look at photos and then rate the person on assumed social competence, intellectual ability, psychological adjustment, and relationship satisfaction. they found that whiter teeth correlated with more positive ratings across all categories.

still, the consensus among the experts is that whitening products diy or otherwise should be handled with care. the canadian dental association (cda) warns that the long term effects of multiple bleaching treatments over many years is unknown. pirani says that she only recommends her patients use evening whitening toothpastes for a set amount of time before switching back to a toothpaste designed for every day.

share story

share this story

watch: we spoke to a dental hygienist about the #hydrogenperoxide #toothwhitening trend

email

facebook

x

linkedin

copy story link