Home-use Tooth Whiteners: Do They Have Short-term Effectiveness?
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We have all heard a lot about home-use tooth whiteners lately. The ads are all over the place stating how we can get beautiful white teeth by simply using at-home whitening kits.
We have all heard a lot about home-use tooth whiteners lately. The ads are all over the place stating how we can get beautiful white teeth by simply using at-home whitening kits.
But what about the effectiveness of these home-use tooth whiteners? Do the results really last?
What Constitutes a Whitener?
A whitener is any process or product which makes teeth appear whiter in colour. There are two ways whitening is accomplished.
- Bleach to change the colour of the tooth
- Other physical or chemical agents to remove surface stains but which don’t change the actual colour of the tooth
Systematic Review of Studies
The American Dental Association (ADA) has recently made public a review by the Cochrane Collaboration of 25 studies of home-use tooth whitening products. The 25 clinical studies looked at the effectiveness of home-use whiteners including:
- Home whitener kits given out by dentists
- Over-the-counter whiteners
They looked at all forms of tooth whiteners except whitening toothpastes:
· Films (which are painted on the teeth)
· Gels (applied in trays)
· Strips (applied to the teeth)
The tooth-whitening agents used by all the products were either carbamide peroxide; or hydrogen peroxide
Each home-use tooth whitening product was used for two or more weeks. After two weeks, the teeth looked whiter than if no whitening product had been used, and differences in effectiveness were due to levels of active whitening agents in the ingredients. Store-bought kits have weaker whitening agents.
Bias in the studies
The Cochrane review noted that all 25 studies were conducted by manufacturers of tooth-whitening products and had “moderate to high levels of bias”. They also noted that reviewing these studies of at-home users was particularly difficult, “given the significant variation in whitening products, concentrations of active ingredients, study designs and application methods.”
The reviewers also called for some long-term studies (at least 6 months) of at-home tooth whitening, to evaluate its potential health effects, and effectiveness.
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