The chemical known as hydrogen peroxide is a very weak acid that has oxidizing properties. Because of this, it can act as a bleaching agent when it is applied to yellow or stained teeth. A lot of at home whitening kits such as the tray and the strip systems use gels that are based on this chemical. But you can also find it in many whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes. It is also used as a disinfectant.
You can use hydrogen peroxide to whiten your teeth. But you need to be careful. If you use concentrations that are too high or you use them on your teeth for too long, you can damage your teeth beyond repair. A lot of commercially available whitening kits come with gels that are based on this chemical. These gels have a concentration of about 10% to 15%. This is fairly low. As long as you follow the instructions that come with your whitening kit, you will likely be safe.
Hydrogen Peroxide Teeth Whitening
If you want to go by the method of using this chemical for to bleach your teeth and regain your pearly white smile, you can either opt for a commercially available whitening kit or you can create your own remedy.
There are many people out there who feel that whitening kits just aren’t worth the money. So they go out and buy their own hydrogen peroxide solutions and a bag of baking soda for cheap. They mix the two together into a paste and use this paste to brush their teeth. It’s a well known home remedy for teeth whitening that’s been known to work very well.
Some people would rather go with a whitening kit because these come with seals of approval of the American Dental Association. Knowing that the whitening kit has been approved by professionals, makes them feel safer when using the product on themselves.
Hydrogen peroxide is a combination of oxygen and hydrogen. It’s been routinely used to give people whiter smiles for years now. Most of these solutions will range between 3% and 15%. The effectiveness varies a lot. Using hydrogen peroxide might cause your teeth to become sensitive temporarily. That’s because the chemical affects your tooth enamel. In order to prevent damaging your tooth enamel irreversibly, never use a solution with concentrations higher than 15%!
Also make sure you swallow as little of this stuff as possible. While this will probably not harm you in the long run, it can definitely cause you great irritation. After swallowing hydrogen peroxide, expect irritation, nausea and headaches. However, these are all temporary and should go away soon.
