Perhaps there is no such person who would not dream of a beautiful, snow-white smile. In pursuit of a dream, we are ready for any sacrifice: home whitening with soda or hydrogen peroxide, semi-professional mouth guards, professional hardware techniques … Of course, we suspect that all this is not entirely harmless. But how big are the risks?
Whitening pastes
I believe that modern whitening toothpastes not only do not protect teeth from caries, but they themselves can cause tooth decay. They clean their teeth with abrasive substances, this leads to abrasion of tooth enamel, increased sensitivity of the teeth. Whitening pastes should absolutely not be used by children, teenagers and pregnant women – it is in them that the enamel is most susceptible to destruction, and bleaching can lead to the fact that there will be nothing to bleach. The most dangerous are whitening pastes with additives such as triclosan.
Folk remedies
Many believe that “natural” and “folk” cannot harm. I hasten to disappoint: folk remedies are very harmful for teeth whitening – for about the same reasons as whitening pastes: either they are abrasives (usually soda, salt and activated carbon), or chemical ones (most often acids and hydrogen peroxide). They clean or soften plaque. But at the same time, they scratch or corrode the enamel. The effect of acids on the teeth greatly increases the sensitivity of the enamel, therefore, by the way, sour berries should not be eaten in large quantities, and fruit juices can only be drunk through a straw – so that as little as possible gets on the surface of the teeth.
