I’ve read online about hydrogen peroxide for whitening teeth. One suggestion is to dip a Q-tip in peroxide and rub it on my teeth. Can I just buy 3% hydrogen peroxide from the drugstore and swish it around in my mouth for mild whitening? Thanks – Dana from MS
Dana,
Whitening agents work by soaking into your teeth for at least fifteen minutes. Swishing around peroxide won’t give you the same effects.
The concentration of peroxide in Crest Whitestrips is 5% or 6%. The instructions are to wear the whitestrips 30 minutes a day for two weeks. Even after two weeks, the whitening is very mild.
Does Rinsing Your Mouth with Peroxide Whiten Teeth?
If you use 3% hydrogen peroxide to rinse your mouth, it may very mildly when your teeth. The peroxide is half the strength of whitestrips so that the results will be even milder, and the peroxide won’t stay in contact with your teeth to penetrate them. The effects will be super mild.
Beware of Extended Oral Use of Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide kills harmful bacteria in your mouth, as well as beneficial microbes. If you rinse with hydrogen peroxide for an extended period—let’s say two weeks, it can be harmful. As the peroxide kills good microbes, the harmful micro-organisms, including candida albicans, will thrive. And you can contract an oral yeast infection that makes your mouth raw and sore.
Why Does Teeth Whitening from a Dentist Work?
Tooth discoloration is usually deep with a tooth. Tooth enamel is translucent, so most of the color in your teeth comes from dentin—the layer beneath the enamel. The objective is for bleaching gel to penetrate the enamel and whiten dentin.
The whitening treatment that you receive from the dentist requires custom bleaching trays. You’ll wear the trays for a couple of hours or overnight, so the bleaching gel deeply penetrates your teeth and breaks down stains.
We recommend speaking with your dentist about how to make teeth whitening affordable for you. You’ll get safe, predictable results.
Ryan Perry, DDS, of Baton Rouge, sponsors this post.