If you've lost that bright smile, you can whiten your teeth at home using hydrogen peroxide or over-the-counter products. Dentists agree that hydrogen peroxide is the most effective ingredient. At-home bleaching kits and whitening toothpastes are less likely to remove stains. Whitening toothpastes contain abrasives or enzymes that make stains disappear.
Whitening products
Professional teeth whitening is the most popular cosmetic dental procedure. In fact, consumer demand for teeth whitening has increased by more than 300 percent since 1996, said the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
If your insurance doesn't cover whitening and your credit card is maxed out, though, you can buy whitening products at your local drugstore. Most consist of hydrogen peroxide, glycerin, carbopol, sodium hydroxide, flavoring substances, silica compounds, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphates, or calcium monohydrogen phosphate and hydrated alumina or aluminum oxide.
What dentists do
Although the experts recommend having a dentist whiten your teeth, they agree that hydrogen peroxide is the best ingredient.
Dentists normally use hydrogen peroxide in concentrations of 15 percent to 35 percent.
They start with carbamide peroxide, which, in a solution with water, breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and urea. Hydrogen peroxide is the active bleaching substance.
Carbamide peroxide, mixed with 90 percent water, has been lab-tested as safe and effective. The only side effects may be mouth irritation, especially to the gums, and tooth sensitivity in the early stages of treatment.
Dentists may use both the solution and a light or laser, which may speed up or trigger the process.
Peroxide Power
You can purchase hydrogen peroxide in a 3-percent solution to whiten teeth at home.
Hydrogen peroxide is comprised of hydrogen and oxygen. It's colorless and sold in water solutions, combining 3 percent to 37 percent of hydrogen peroxide with preservatives.
The household version, often sold in a brown bottle, has 3 percent. Higher concentrations are used in cleaning products.
Teeth whiteners with peroxide also may contain glycerin, carbopol, sodium hydroxide and flavoring.
What's in toothpaste?
Whitening toothpastes contain polishing or chemical ingredients, not bleaches. They employ abrasives or enzymes that chemically or mechanically remove stains. The stains are erased without damaging tooth enamel and structure. These toothpastes remove surface stains, but bleaching agents break down pigment to remove the teeth's yellowish or grayish color.
Toothpaste details
Abrasives used in whitening toothpastes include calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphates, hydrated alumina and silica compounds.
Calcium carbonate is a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, tasteless powder occurring in calcite, chalk and limestone. Dicalcium phosphates contain about 23 percent calcium and are used as dietary supplements and in medicine tablets.
Silica appears in quartz sand, flint and agate. As a white powder, it's used to make glass, water glass, ceramics and abrasives.
Companies producing toothpastes test them to see whether the abrasive component erases stains but leaves tooth structure intact.
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