To start, Hydrogen Peroxide is a relatively typical product, and has been used by people for several years as a disinfectant/antiseptic, particularly in the case of cuts and small wounds. Chemically, you might be amazed that Hydrogen Peroxide is relatively near water. In reality, it’s merely water with an additional oxygen molecule (water is H2O, Hydrogen Peroxide is H2O2). This does not indicate you must drink it, obviously, but it’s interesting however.
How to Whiten Teeth with Hydrogen Peroxide
An intriguing reality about Hydrogen Peroxide is: is it widely sold in brown bottles. Why? Due to the fact that light is the opponent of Hydrogen Peroxide, and continued exposure to light will gradually turn it into plain water. Hence, the brown bottles are used to keep light at bay. However even that won’t assist keep the product fresh forever. Hydrogen Peroxide is relatively unstable, suggesting it will degenerate no matter what. So keeping bottles around for years will certainly lessen the effectiveness of the product. You can increase the time you keep it by refrigerating it, however depending upon how much refrigerator space you have, I’m uncertain how practical that is (especially since it’s so low-cost).
As a NYC Cosmetic Dentist, I absolutely use Hydrogen Peroxide in a variety of methods– usually in the areas of teeth bleaching. To start, Hydrogen Peroxide is a whitening agent, and can absolutely help in whitening teeth. In reality, many over the counter tooth lightening products have a great amount of Hydrogen Peroxide– often as much as 10 percent (simply to provide you a point of referral, the brown bottles you purchase are usually 3 percent.)
However this concentration features a price for some people– there are particular side effects that will impact some (but not all) users. The primary side effects are tooth level of sensitivity and/or gum irritation. These side effects seem to be more common in people who currently have some degree of sensitivity, so if you discover yourself returning from a dental cleaning with delicate teeth, you may wish to reconsider utilizing lightening strips or the like. However if you experience no side effects, then using Hydrogen Peroxide (in moderation) to help lighten teeth is most likely OK.
Understanding that Hydrogen Peroxide breaks down naturally is an essential point I am focusing on in this article. If it deteriorates naturally from light, heat and age then what’s to say that the bleaching strips, lightening gels and numerous over-the-counter lightening items we need to select from are fresh? If the degeneration is a progressive process, wouldn’t newly made bleaching gels/strips in fact be more powerful than those that have been shipped in a tractor trailer on a 100 degree warm day, and after that sat on a shop shelf for 24 months? You bet they would. This brings me to my point: “supported Hydrogen Peroxide.”
There are a few methods to stabilize Hydrogen Peroxide:
- Complete Encapsulation
- Refrigeration.
- Preservative Compounds.
The issue with number one is that the preservatives prevent the Hydrogen Peroxide from “disassociating” which is something we in fact desire when we put it on the teeth. This may conserve the Hydrogen Peroxide from breaking down while it’s on the rack, however it likewise avoids it from breaking down when you want it to.
Refrigeration is a great approach. If Hydrogen Peroxide is instantly refrigerated after being made, it can preserve its potency over rather an extended period. And, once it’s eliminated from refrigeration and used on the teeth, it will completely disassociate and provide a very effective bleaching of the tooth enamel. I have actually not seen this in an OTC product (yet), nevertheless we do use systems that utilize this refrigeration methodology scientifically, and they are extremely effective.
Complete encapsulation is the most practical technique. By encapsulating Hydrogen Peroxide in a vacuum sealed ampoule, you can prevent destruction as well. An excellent analogy here is soda. The carbonation in a soda can truly wants to escape, however since it’s in a sealed system (such as a can), it is not able to leak out. Much of the OTC systems use a really weakly sealed product packaging system that is not unsusceptible to this degradation procedure like an ampoule is.