Using Hydrogen Peroxide for Teeth Whitening: Safe or Not?

If you go through the contents of a first aid kit in a household, you will definitely find an antiseptic product made with hydrogen peroxide in it. It is often lauded for its versatile properties that are beneficial to the human health in ways more than one. You must have heard about people using hydrogen peroxide for teeth whitening and wondered whether it really proves to be effective. While dentists use it as an important element in teeth whitening procedures, some individuals also buy it directly from stores for an in-house teeth whitening process.

So, the big question is whether hydrogen peroxide really help in whitening your teeth? The answer to that is, yes it does! However, when you decide to use hydrogen peroxide as a teeth whitening ingredient, you must be aware of some safety issues associated with it. One of the important things to know is that hydrogen peroxide can prove to be damaging for one’s enamel if it is used excessively or incorrectly.

How Effective Is It?

If you go through the text material on the back of any teeth whitening product sold in stores, you will see hydrogen peroxide listed as one of the ingredients. Products have a certain amount of peroxide (carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide) content in them, work very well as bleaching agents and prove to be in altering the color of one’s teeth. This happens because peroxide gets inside the teeth’s layers and drive away the various compounds that are responsible for the discoloration of the teeth.

Concentration

Most commercial teeth whitening kits that you buy from a store contain around 10% of hydrogen peroxide. When you visit a dentist for a teeth whitening procedure, they might use products or solutions that contain hydrogen peroxide in the range of 30-40%. Many of the teeth whitening products found in stores have just about 2-3% of hydrogen peroxide in them.

As stated earlier, using a very high amount of hydrogen peroxide on your teeth could lead to issues like tooth sensitivity and enamel breakdown. Dental problems could also occur if hydrogen peroxide stays on your teeth for a very long period of time. Even if you use a solution that has a very low concentration of hydrogen peroxide but let it remain on your teeth, it could result in damage to your teeth.

Safety Concerns

Before using hydrogen peroxide for teeth whitening, you must weigh the safety issues associated with it. While tooth and gum sensitivity is one of the most common side-effect, you could also suffer from inflammation or irritation in your gums if you use it in higher concentration. If you are not fully sure as to how to use it, it would be advisable to go to a dentist instead of opting for a self-administered treatment at home.

John Moore is the author of this Article. For more information about hydrogen peroxide for teeth whitening please visit the website.