Dentists Warn Consumers Against At Home Teeth Whitening Kits

Be careful!


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Dentists are warning Australians over the counter teeth-whitening products could at best, do nothing and in the worse case, could contain damaging ingredients. 

President of Australian Dentists Association Queensland, Laurence Walsh, said a lot of over the counter teeth whitening products simply weren’t necessary: 

“One is that you want any time of intervention to be effective, safe and necessary

“First of all, a range of the different sorts of external stains that can be reduced in intensity by applying a home bleaching agent can actually be removed by very simply professional cleaning.”

He said many products available over the counter in Australian stores had very weak concentrations of bleaching agents.

A recent Australian Dental Association study found that over two-thirds (68 per cent) of younger respondents aged 18-35 who had whitened their teeth had bought a kit from another source (such as a website, chemist or beauty store) rather than a dental professional.

“The products that are available at consumer level actually have very, very low concentrations and those products often lack evidence of effectiveness.”

He also warned poorly fitted trays could mean consumers are swallowing the chemicals which might not be healthy.

As for products sold on Instagram and Ebay – he warned they may not meet safe-levels of chemicals and could potentially be dangerous.

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28 August 2018




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