Safety of Hydrogen Peroxide in Bleaching of Teeth

Factual Questions
1

Although this topic has been touched on before, I have a slightly different spin.

My habit every couple weeks is to pour about two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide into my mouth and let it sit there for about three minutes, so that it will bleach my teeth nice and white. (I usually finish by brushing my teeth with baking soda and then rinsing real well. Some dentists swear by this combination, BTW.) I know other people who do this, and I’ve been told that it’s safe–especially in light of the fact that dentists use far stronger concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in their clinical practice. Still, I cannot help but wonder about the safety of it, especially in light of this passage from OSHA:

http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/hydrogenperoxide/recognition.html

“Application to the eyes of rabbits shows that hydrogen peroxide in concentrations of 5 percent or above can cause lasting damage [Grant 1986]. Oral administration of hydrogen peroxide in mice has caused adenomas and carcinomas of the duodenum [IARC 1985]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that there is limited evidence of hydrogen peroxide’s carcinogenicity in animals [IARC 1985]. Hydrogen peroxide is mutagenic in bacterial test systems and causes DNA damage, sister chromatid exchanges, and chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells in vitro [IARC 1985].”

Though I do not apply hydrogen peroxide to my eyes–nor drink it–I can’t help but wonder if the ADA is wrong. Hydrogen peroxide sounds like some serious stuff.

Any ideas?

2

And if anybody does chime in on this, I’d be interested to know what the significance is between ordinary H2O2 and so-called “food grade” H2O2.

I see quite a few sites that herald it as a miraculous cure-all coming directly from the fountain of youth:

Site1
Site2
Site3

Notice I called them “sites”. I don’t know whether or not they qualify as “cites”.

3

Mmmmmmmmm…peroxide.
My anecdotal evidence shows that after using peroxide as part of a dental routine, I can expect to get ulcers in my mouth with continued use. Also, baking soda and a good whitening toothpaste provide enough whitening to keep me happy.

I love peroxide because it fizzes when it’s working. That’s what I want to see in a product: A clear indication that there is a battle being waged on the germ scale, and I’m kicking butt.

I dab my Q-Tips ™ in it before cleaning my ears.

4

I know it’s a common joke among Americans that we Brits have lousy teeth, so I’ll pause for a second while the notion of a Brit talking about such matters gets you all rolling around the floor.

Okay, class, that’s enough.

Here in the UK, a dental course of bleaching treatments will involve two different strengths of peroxide gel or solution. Typically, you will use a 10% peroxide gel in the treatments you apply yourself, and 30% in the treatments the dentist applies to your teeth once a week. The 10% solution should be left on for only half an hour or so per session (usually twice a day during the course of treatment). The 30% solution can be left on for an hour, but the dentist should first apply a guarding medium, that protects your gums from damage.

If administered properly, a course of treatment as described above should have no harmful side-effects whatsoever. The peroxide should only ever come into contact with the enamel of the teeth. If you try to administer your own bleaching program, without expert dental supervision, obviously you run the risk of using too much too often or using it inappropriately.

Okay, I can see the strain of trying to maintain a straight face is killing you. Go on, laugh away. But actually, my teeth are nice.