Tooth Whitener
A tooth whitener is a product that helps to make teeth look whiter. A tooth whitener product can bleach the tooth, which means that it actually changes the natural tooth color, or it may abrade surface stains from the teeth. Bleaching products typically contain peroxides to help remove deep and surface stains. By contrast, non-bleaching whitening products contain agents that work by physical or chemical action to help remove surface stains only.
History
Whitening teeth for aesthetic purposes has been dated back to the Ancient Egyptians, where a mixture of ground pumice and wine vinegar was brushed on the teeth with a rudimentary toothbrush. The ancient Romans used human urine by the belief that it kept the teeth white and firmly in place, a practice that continued into the eighteenth century. Whitening in the medieval ages was done by barbers, where the teeth would be filed down and nitric acid applied to the teeth. This was a dangerous procedure, considering the massive tooth damage this practice caused.
Abrasion
Toothpastes use this to make teeth to look whiter. Toothpaste typically has small particles of silica, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphate to grind off stains formed by colored molecules that have lodged onto the teeth from food. Unlike bleaches, whitening toothpaste does not alter the intrinsic color of teeth.
Bleaching
Bleaching solutions contain peroxide, which actually bleaches the tooth enamel. Off-the-shelf products typically rely on carbamide peroxide solutions as the bleaching agent. Carbamide peroxide comes in several different concentrations in these products, ranging from 10% to 22%. They may be brushed directly on the teeth or be embedded in a plastic strip that is placed on the teeth. Other come in a gel that is placed in a mouthguard. Because the concentration is typically low to avoid toxicity, whitening often takes several weeks.
By contrast, whitening treatments used by dentists are much stronger, containing substances with more than 30% hydrogen peroxide. As a result, they are used more cautiously with appropriate protection of the soft tissues.
By Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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