Up until 2012, teeth whitening was available outside of the dental environment in the UK. As it was classed as a ‘cosmetic’ treatment, some beauty salons etc provided this service. In truth, it was a bit of a grey area legally, and these businesses often used various means to get around the legislation. As we will see in this blog, although a teeth whitening procedure is non-invasive, there is a lot that can go wrong if it is not carried out correctly, and by a professional dentist or dental practitioner.
As a new law was passed, meaning that only dentists could carry this out, we would have hoped that would be the end of it, but a recent report by the BBC (1) indicates that some people are attempting to make money from this popular treatment by selling kits that can be used at home and these are often being sold on the doorstep or in car parks. As these kits are being sold at a significantly cheaper price than at the dentists, some people obviously feel it is worth taking a chance. After all … what could go wrong? .. Quite a lot as it turns out!
To whiten teeth, a type of bleaching agent (hydrogen peroxide) is used. As most people know, bleach can burn and especially when applied to sensitive areas such as the lips and gums. It can also be very dangerous indeed if swallowed. For this reason, there are limits on the percentage of bleach that can be used for this purpose. For ‘over the counter’ whitening products such as toothpaste, the maximum percentage that can be used is 0.1% (which is why these toothpastes aren’t very effective). The levels are higher for a dentist as they are trained to use them. Even here though, the maximum limit that can be used is 6%.
Some of these illegal kits have been sent to a laboratory for testing, and the level of bleach in some of them came to 53%. It doesn’t take a medical genius to realise how dangerous that amount could be and we very strongly advise any Edinburgh patients of the 103 Dental and Implant Practice that are offered one of these, to refuse, and also to report it to the police or trading standards. You could even save lives by doing so.
It is obvious that whitening solutions that are this strong are very likely to cause some serious damage, possibly to general health as well. Let us take a look at some likely outcomes if you do use one of these kits.
Especially without application by a professional dentist, the most likely outcome of using these kits is burns to the soft tissues of the oral cavity; i.e. lips, tongue, cheeks and gums. At this level, the pain is very likely to be severe and may even lead to the gums failing to play their role in keeping a tooth stable. You could destroy the taste buds in your mouth too and lead to a loss of taste and sensation for years to come.
The enamel on our teeth protects us against sensitivity and decay, and using bleaches of this strength is almost certainly going to cause serious damage to the enamel. This will inevitably mean that you will suffer, probably very badly, from teeth that are sensitive to hot or cold food and drinks. When this happens, porcelain veneers can sometimes be used to restore teeth, but at this strength of bleach, there is every chance that damage would be too severe and your teeth might need to be extracted and replaced by dental implants or dentures.
At this strength, the bleach could enter the inner part of the tooth and enter the root canals where the soft pulp that contains nerves are located. This could cause painful inflammation or even destroy the nerves altogether. This would be very painful and you would either need to have a root canal procedure or, quite possibly, have the teeth removed altogether.
There are other general risks from using these kits including throat and gastrointestinal damage, toxicity and eye or skin damage. There are so many serious things that could go wrong that it doesn’t matter how much money you save, these are seriously not worth the risk.
If you are tempted to buy one of these kits due to their price, simply don’t. If you would like to have whiter teeth but cost is an issue, please come and talk to us at our Edinburgh dental practice in the New Town area. We offer both teeth whitening and dental veneers that can help you have a great looking smile without the serious risks previously mentioned. Where cost is concerned, we offer a range of payment plans that can help you to spread the cost of treatment over a period of time.
Hopefully, today’s blog has reiterated the importance of having any dental work done in a safe and professional environment. If any treatments are offered significantly cheaper, the risks are almost certainly not worth it and could prove to be very serious indeed!
For more information about the teeth whitening that we offer our patients, or to book an initial consultation with us, please call the 103 Dental and Implant Practice today on 0131 608 3219.
