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Is teeth whitening bad for our patients? Like it or lump it, teeth whitening is in fashion and in demand. We look at the pros, cons and legalities Story by Kailey Paterson
THE OVERWHELMING force of social media influencers hustling endless products, and the blurry lines of responsibility in regards to whitening treatments in Australia, has seen the teeth whitening industry grow to epic proportions. Once a procedure that seemed beyond the financial reach of the average patient, it would be hard to find a patient who hasn’t whitened, thought about whitening or tried multiple whitening products. The internet and Google are providing
so much information and availability, that consumers rarely ask our advice anymore without a myriad of material and products gathered from various sources. Patients rarely ask for the research and it has become easy for people to be swept up in social media frenzies over products like charcoal toothpaste, amongst other dentifrices. I constantly find myself reminding patients that cream-coloured teeth are totally normal and that we are all being subjected to B1 tooth shades or porcelain-white teeth making anything
darker seem like social leprosy! However, patients do have a right to the choice of treatment. so we cannot be the fun police; and as the research suggests, teeth whitening is relatively harmless when delivered appropriately. The active ingredients in all professional whitening products is hydrogen peroxide. Whether it comes as a percentage of hydrogen peroxide (HP) or a carbamide peroxide (CP) solution, it will essentially break down at a chemical level to hydrogen peroxide. The trick to comparing strength is
