When Is Too A lot Tooth Whitening Dangerous to Oral Well being?

Too A lot Tooth Whitening Can Trigger Harm. Right here’s What to Know

By Sara Novak

Flashing a gleaming set of pearly whites might really feel glamorous, however people who find themselves overzealous with utilizing fashionable teeth-whitening therapies can significantly endanger their oral well being. TikTok and Instagram influencers are hawking any variety of novel over-the-counter whitening merchandise, and celebrities’ sometimes snowy-white tooth could make the remainder of us really feel self-conscious about our personal smile. And in a 2022 survey, almost half of dentists stated they use social media to promote aesthetic therapies.

“Patients want it so white that it looks unnatural,” says Ronald Perry, a professor of complete care on the Tufts College Faculty of Dental Drugs. He first observed an elevated curiosity “with social media, and then [it] blossomed during the pandemic. People started to see their teeth over Zoom and think they looked yellow.”

About 37 million People tried some type of teeth-whitening product or process in 2020. The broad assortment of over-the-counter therapies embrace gel-filled trays, strips and pens—whereas dentists can use a potent bleaching gel and lasers. Specialists say utilizing over-the-counter merchandise in accordance with producers’ tips is mostly secure, however they warn that overdoing it may be pricey on your tooth: overwhitening can injury enamel, burn gums, trigger long-term tooth sensitivity and even bleach out a lot pure coloration in tooth that they flip translucent.

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Most over-the-counter therapies use the identical energetic ingredient: hydrogen peroxide. It begins an oxidation response that removes discoloration on and under a tooth’s floor—and in doing so it makes the enamel extra permeable and even porous, based on a 2015 examine within the European Journal of Dentistry. Moreover, a 2018 Dentistry Journal examine discovered that immediately exposing tooth to bleaching brokers, together with hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide, can result in uncomfortable sensitivity within the nerve-riddled dentin (the inflexible yellow tissue that makes up a lot of a tooth’s inner construction and blankets the nerves). And because the enamel layer degrades, the dentin itself can finally turn into seen—totally defeating the therapy’s function. “What we end up seeing is the underlying, more yellowish dentin,” says Stephen Sterlitz, chief of the restorative dentistry division on the College of Kentucky. “And at the edges of the teeth, where there’s no dentin, it looks like glass.”

Harm from occasional bleaching purposes isn’t often everlasting as a result of saliva incorporates a small quantity of electrolytes, together with phosphate and calcium, that may assist remineralize tooth. Meals equivalent to dairy merchandise, darkish leafy greens and fish additionally comprise some teeth-strengthening minerals, and toothpastes with fluoride and hydroxyapatite can fortify enamel. However individuals who persistently overuse whitening merchandise can develop long-term tooth sensitivity and even important tooth erosion, says Nadia Rodriguez, a beauty dentist in New York Metropolis. Hydrogen peroxide in whitening therapies can chemically burn the gums, notably if merchandise aren’t utilized appropriately.

So how white can your tooth safely get? That relies on how a lot enamel you begin with. “A younger person tends to have more enamel, which means their teeth can get whiter than an older person’s,” Rodriguez says. Whitening your tooth to a shade simply barely whiter than the whites of your eyes is often thought-about greatest follow, she says.

Average tooth whitening is secure and efficient, Perry says. General, the info present that skilled whitening executed at a dentist’s workplace is mostly innocent, so long as folks wait at the least six months to a yr between classes. Some tooth sensitivity is a standard aspect impact, but it surely often fades a couple of weeks after therapy. Most at-home whitening kits are additionally thought-about secure if customers comply with the producer’s tips. Many such therapies ought to solely be utilized for as much as two weeks, and Rodriguez advises ready three to 4 months earlier than whitening once more (at-home therapies comprise a decrease share of hydrogen peroxide than in-office therapies).

Having white tooth could make folks really feel extra presentable and assured. However Rodriguez warns that these flashy smiles marketed on social media are sometimes promoting a false narrative. “When people have absurdly white teeth on social media, it’s [likely] not their real teeth,” she says. The look could also be enhanced by social media filters or achieved via porcelain coverings, referred to as veneers, which may cowl any imperfections or stains.

For many of us who need brighter tooth, Perry contends that the routine dental well being fundamentals are an excellent place to start out and could also be sufficient. “Before you do anything else, get a professional cleaning to remove hardened plaque, tartar and a large amount of staining from your teeth,” he says. And solely then determine whether or not further whitening nonetheless is smart for you.