Myth #5: All teeth whitening gels damage teeth enamel
This is not entirely true, if you use a trusted teeth whitening product. It will not ruin your teeth, as those products essentially have active ingredients called Carbamide or Hydrogen Peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent that enters in a chemical reaction and converted to water and oxygen and of course these elements are very usual in our life and essential to the human body.
The nature of teeth under microscope is rough with small projections on the surface. Oxygen molecules penetrate the surface of the teeth and expel all the stained spots. It’s very similar to what you see in TV shows where oxygen in the cloth washing powder removes all the stains from clothes once it touches the stains.
Some of the other the teeth whitening gels used at home contain ammonia or depend on the acid for bleaching the teeth. In fact, most of the teeth whitening at home remedies depend on the acid in some fruits or vegetables. The carbamide peroxide teeth whitening depends on the cleaning effect of the oxygen.
The acid-based bleachers may ruin your enamel. Harmless orange and lemon juices are very acidic (low PH levels) and this acid will harm the enamel. On the other hand, carbamide peroxide teeth whitening gels based have neutral PH or very slightly low PH levels. Carbamide peroxide based teeth whitening gels will not harm your enamel if used properly.
Myth# 6: The whitening gels made in USA, Germany, Australia or UK are different.
This totally wrong! You may think that if you buy an American or Australian brand of whitening gel, the quality of it will increase due to the reputation of these brands, but the truth is, the most of these products have the same main ingredients. Chemicals are chemicals no matter where you produce them. Carbamdide peroxide can be different in different parts of the world. The fact is, all over the world, the market is full of brands of teeth whitening gels and customer get confused about what brand to trust . The fact is, the main blocks of ingredients are THE SAME, as the carbamide peroxide (the active ingredient) is the same everywhere.
Also there is no worry if you buy an expired whitening gel, as the gel would be already oxidized – gone flat and is not effective any more. So, it is not harmful but it will just not whiten. It will convert to a milky white substance that is harmless.
Here is what you need to worry about.
Are these gels manufactured by real dental labs? What is the concentration of the gel that you are buying? Has this brand been around for a while and can your questions be answered.