Teeth whitening agents from the web? They can be dangerous!
Teeth whitening is an accessible way for most patients to have a more beautiful smile. It is still popular, although there is no shortage of dentists who advise against carrying out this procedure, m.In. Due to the possibility of developing tooth sensitivity. Whitening is safe, as long as it is performed in a dental office by an authorized person. But it is not uncommon for patients to seek other solutions.
Teeth whitening is also very popular among patients due to the relatively low price of the procedure.
"Do it yourself" – whether it is definitely a good method?
The price of a teeth whitening procedure, however, can be lower, as long as you bet on dentistry from under the sign do it yourself. Let's go further – it will be even cheaper if the patient buys the whitening preparation not in a pharmacy, but on the Internet, using price as the most important criterion.
However, what is the likelihood that a teeth whitening procedure will end successfully and without damage to health, if it is performed (by yourself or someone else) by a person without experience and knowledge in this area, and the preparation itself does not come from a reputable manufacturer?
Dangerous teeth whitening products
A UK test found that 58% of whitening products available online exceeded the acceptable level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which – along with carbamide peroxide – is the main ingredient in live tooth whiteners.
Independent portal Which? (which.co.uk), which aims to protect British consumers, has evaluated whitening products sold through popular sales sites such as AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish.
In the study, experts of the service which.co.uk evaluated the composition of 36 whitening preparations. They checked how much hydrogen peroxide each contains, comparing it with preparations from trusted manufacturers. They showed that 21 of 36 whitening agents tested contained concentrations of hydrogen peroxide higher than those allowed in preparations intended for home use (0.1%).
H concentration2O2 exceeded 300 times!
For 11 of the agents tested, the hydrogen peroxide content was 6%, which is the maximum for preparations approved for use by dentists in the office. A total of 20 products contained H2O2 was at least 10 times higher than allowed by the standards, while in the 6 most dangerous bleaches the standard was exceeded more than 100 times! The most objectionable 2 products – syringes filled with teeth whitening gel available on AliExpress – contained about as much as 30% hydrogen peroxide, which is 300 times the standard for home whitening products!
A study found alarmingly high levels of active whitening ingredients in a wide range of gel-filled pens, strips and syringes. According to the law, over-the-counter whitening products should contain only 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, with the amount rising to a maximum of 6% for dentists' products. However, whitening products containing illegal concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were available on each of the aforementioned sales platforms (AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Wish), and moreover, they accounted for the majority in the group of products tested.
What about the legal liability of sales services?
Sue Davies, head of the. consumer protection policies at which.Which.uk said: – Our tests revealed that many products sold online and often advertised on social media exceed the legal limits for hydrogen peroxide, and thus endanger the health of users.
– Internal regulations are not working, exposing people to a flood of unsafe products on the Internet. It is absolutely essential that online marketplaces take greater legal responsibility for the safety of products sold on their sites. This will give buyers much better protection against dangerous and illegal products – added Sue Davies.
