How good is the carbamide peroxide (xx%) teeth whitener work?

[webnewland]

I am thinking of buying some of those kits off ebay and not sure how well they work. Is there a best % of the gel to buy? also, does the product have harmful effect on your teeth/gum, both permanent and temprory. Also, are the products effective and lasting?
Any help would be great.

 

[StageLeft]

I used a kit and now I have to eat baby food. I have no teeth left!:Q

 

[MrBond]

You might want to ask your dentist. He'd be a good judge of whats good vs what's bad.

I saw the same infomercial today, watch the OSU/NW game?

 

[webnewland]

Well, is it harmful to teeth depends on the % of the product, some say over 16% could damage your teeth? Also, not really sure if buying these type of product from ebay is good.

 

[tcsenter]

<< Is there a best % of the gel to buy? also, does the product have harmful effect on your teeth/gum, both permanent and temprory. Also, are the products effective and lasting? >>

I just researched all this stuff a few months ago. Generally, you have two whitening modalities: more treatments using weaker whitening agents, or fewer treatments using stronger agents. The latter is considered more ideal as the whitening effect increases with concentration, except the chance of gum irritation increases with the strength of the agent.

Carbamide peroxide is a stable gel-like form of hydrogen peroxide, which converts into hydrogen peroxide in the mouth. By weight, carbamide peroxide contains 33% hydrogen peroxide, so a bleaching gel with 10% carbamide peroxide contains 3.3% hydrogen peroxide. It takes a while for the carbamide form to degrade into the active hydrogen peroxide form, so each application is longer in duration than using straight hydrogen peroxide (from a couple hours to overnight). Tooth whitening with peroxide is generally considered safe and has not been shown to cause any damage to the tooth or nerve.

However, the bleaching can be very irritating to the gums or it can inflame the nerve through any cavities or chipped teeth you may have. Most people report an increase in tooth sensitivity for a few days to such stimulus as cold or hot, but it passes. You should be sure that your gums are in good health, even minor gum disease is a contraindication for tooth whitening because you can damage your gums further by using strong hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide was once available OTC in concentrations up to 20%. But, they restricted OTC hydrogen peroxide to 3% because people were not diluting the stronger forms enough and literally burned the gums off their teeth. :Q

The bleaching will last from one to five years, depending upon each person and whether they smoke, drink coffee, tea, etc. There is generally no meaningful difference between the stuff that costs $100 and the stuff you can get at the drug store chains (Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, etc) for $20. 16% Carbamide peroxide is the most popular, but some people can't use it because it leaves their teeth too sensitive. If that happens, you can either try 10% or dilute the 16% by 1/3 with water.

 

[Mday]

peroxide bleaching will damage the gums, which can to lead to gingivitis...

um, if you really wanna bleach them, go to the dentist. they will make you custom guards for your teeth, to minimize exposure to the gums.

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the results of bleaching will improve with continued treatments, and maintainence (brushing).

they will make your teeth more sensitive to hot and cold.

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i highly recommend consulting a dentist. they know more about this.

 

[tcsenter]

<< peroxide bleaching will damage the gums, which can to lead to gingivitis... >>

Which is why for gingivitis, a dentist will prescribe a regimen that includes peroxide therapy.

As I said above, he should be sure that his gums are in good health before using any whitening products. Clinically, they call it "whitening" if the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is within OTC limits, "bleaching" if more. So, there really are no true "bleaching" products available OTC because they're restricted (bleaching in dentist offices use 20% - 35% hydrogen peroxide - WAY too strong for gums). 22% carbamide peroxide is the strongest you can get OTC, which is effectively 7.26% hydrogen peroxide; not strong enough to cause gum damage to HEALTHY gums. It is actually beneficial.

There are 20+ years of research on "home" peroxide bleaching and nothing suggests it will damage healthy gums. The ADA even condones it (10% carbamine).

 

[webnewland]

So would lower the % for carbamine peroxide, the better safety wise? Personally, waiting a bit longer is not really a problem when applying.

 

[tcsenter]

<< So would lower the % for carbamine peroxide, the better safety wise? Personally, waiting a bit longer is not really a problem when applying >>

Start with the 10%, then after a couple treatments if you don't have any major problem, move-up to the 16%. You can usually just buy the gel itself after you have purchased the kit. Your gums are going to be slightly irritated no matter what you start, and your teeth are probably going to be a little more sensitive for a few days to hot or cold. But, you want to minimize the irritation.

I found I had a cavity when I used the stuff a few months ago. It WILL send a tooth's nerve into fits if you have a cavity or chipped tooth. I found that out REAL quick. I would recommend making an appointment with the dentist to ask him/her whether you're clear to use it. Problem is, dentists (and doctors for that matter) don't like losing money, so he may try to say "you should have it done here" so he can charge you up the arse.