Teeth Brighteners

A Dim Report about Teeth Brighteners

Using your brush with teeth brighteners, you may be getting more than just a flashy smile.

When you brush with teeth brighteners, you may be getting more than just a flashy smile. Teeth brightener sales topped $52 million in 1993, up 25 percent over 1992. But the American Dental Association has raised serious concerns about the safety of teeth brighteners. Prompted by the ADA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now investigating whether the over-the counter products should be regulated as cosmetics or drugs. None of the products currently on the market are accepted by the ADA.

Although dentists have used hydrogen peroxide as bleaching agents for years, the ADA worries that commercially available at-home kits involve hours of unsupervised exposure to hydrogen peroxide and that users may leave the product on their teeth longer than directed, thinking their teeth will be made even whiter the longer the product is applied. The brighteners often contain acids that can damage enamel, they say, and overuse can also cause tooth sensitivity, gum irritation, and throat and stomach problems. In some cases, oxygenating agents can damage mouth tissues, delay healing, harm the interior of teeth, cause cell changes, and enhance the effects of other cancerogenics, they claim.

Bright teeth. Photo by Elena

One study published in the Journal of Periodontology found that hamsters given hydrogen peroxide orally developed precancerous growths. When hydrogen peroxide was combined with cancer-causing products, such as cigarettes, the likelihood of cancer increased greatly.

FDA safely regulations are more stringent for drugs than for cosmetics. According to the FDA, a drug is intended to affect the structure and function of the body while a cosmetic is defined as anything “introduced into or otherwise applied to the human body for promoting attractiveness or altering appearances.”

At prices that can be twice as high as regular toothpaste, teeth brighteners carry a healthy profit margin. The FDA will have to determine if they are also as safe.