Can I Bleach My Teeth With Clorox?
Posted by writeradmin
I’d mentioned to a friend that I’d started bleaching my teeth with Clorox at home and she went bezerko. She is absolutely adamant that it is dangerous and I need to stop. I haven’t seen any problems from it. Is she overreacting or is there a problem?
Avery
Dear Avery,
There are a couple of things that you need to be aware of when it comes to household bleach. While it is not an acid, it is a pretty strong base, like Lye. This can burn and damage living tissue. In fact, it is commonly used by dentists at the end of a root canal treatment. One of its active ingredients, sodium hypochlorite, is great at dissolving or cleaning out dead debris and tissue left in the tooth. Think about what that is slowly doing to the inside of your mouth and gums.
A second issue is that if it comes into contact with certain other chemicals that are used in products it will react in a way that turns it into Chlorine, which is a toxic gas. That’s definitely another thing which you will want to avoid.
The safest and most effective way to whiten your teeth is through a dentist with professional strength teeth whitening. Not only is the whitening gel much stronger than you could get anywhere else, but they use bleaching trays, like the ones pictured above that are form fitted to your bite. This helps to both keep the gel on your teeth while at the same time keeping it away from your gums.
There are over-the-counter whitening kits that do work, such as Crest Whitestrips, but they are weak and only cover six of your teeth. You would need a LOT of boxes of it in order to get the same results you would through your dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Mt. Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.
Click here to learn about a smile makeover with porcelain veneers.