[Source: Popular Science Xingtai] Among the dazzling array of oral health care products, one type of product is the most popular, and that is tooth whitening products. The most common one is whitening toothpaste. Just brushing your teeth can make your teeth whiter. It’s so simple

[Source: Popular Science The most common one is whitening toothpaste. Just brushing your teeth can make your teeth whiter. It’s so simple and easy, so why not give it a try?

But do you really know about whitening toothpaste? How effective is teeth whitening by brushing?

Common Ways to Whiten Teeth

To make teeth look whiter, there are three common ways: First, remove stains. This method is more suitable for teeth with normal color and whose surface is covered by stains and does not appear white. Removing stains can make the original white teeth visible again; second, bleaching. It is to use chemical methods to whiten abnormally colored teeth; third, cover them. It is to achieve the purpose of "whitening" the teeth by covering the appearance of the teeth. The whitening effect of

whitening toothpaste mainly relies on the above-mentioned methods.

The merits and demerits of "stain-removing" whitening toothpaste

As we all know, abrasives play the main role in toothpaste in removing stains. If a whitening toothpaste whitens teeth by removing stains, that means its abrasive is likely to be harder than regular toothpaste and contain more abrasive than regular toothpaste.

As the saying goes, "Success is also a failure." The harder the friction agent or the greater the content, the stronger the stain removal ability of the toothpaste, but at the same time, the greater the mechanical damage it may cause to the teeth. It is generally believed that the hardness of toothpaste abrasive should be lower than the hardness of enamel and higher than the hardness of dentin. Therefore, when the tooth structure is intact, the damage caused by abrasives to enamel is negligible. However, since "stain-removing" whitening toothpastes are likely to use a harder abrasive than regular toothpaste, the risk of damage to tooth enamel must be higher than that of regular toothpaste. If it is used to clean teeth whose dentin has been exposed due to enamel damage, it will cause greater damage to the teeth. Therefore, you should be careful when choosing a "stain-removing" whitening toothpaste, and be sure to act within your capabilities.

How effective is the "bleaching" whitening toothpaste?

If the whitening toothpaste achieves teeth whitening through bleaching, it means that it will contain bleaching agent - peroxide . After hydrolysis, these peroxides can release hydrogen peroxide and exert a bleaching effect. However, the effectiveness of "bleaching" whitening toothpaste will be affected by many factors. The first is the stability of the bleach, so it is very important to ensure that the shelf life of the bleach is long enough; secondly, for safety reasons, the concentration of bleach is usually limited to around 1 WT% or even lower. In addition, the peroxide generated after the hydrolysis of the bleach Due to the instability of hydrogen, the short brushing time (2 to 3 minutes), and the dilution effect of saliva, it is doubtful whether low-concentration peroxide can have a bleaching effect. Some researchers even believe that whitening toothpaste still relies on stain removal rather than bleaching to whiten teeth.

The principle of "covering" whitening toothpaste

Unlike "stain-removing" and "bleaching" whitening toothpastes, which aim to decolorize teeth, "covering" whitening toothpastes aim to "color" teeth. The stain is a special dye (such as blue covarine) that changes the absorption and reflection spectrum of the color from yellow to blue, making the teeth appear whiter.

Alternative whitening technology

In addition to the common whitening methods mentioned above, whitening toothpaste may also use the following technologies: ① Add bionic materials similar to the tooth structure. This bionic material can not only remove stains, but also be adsorbed on the tooth surface to make the teeth look whiter, but the whitening principle is not yet clear; ② Add anti-redeposition agents, such as sodium citrate . The main function of this type of ingredients is to prevent pigmentation, which is preventive whitening; ③Add enzymes. Most enzymes can only remain stable for a short period of time at room temperature, and may be inactivated during the production process or under transportation and storage conditions, so the whitening effect is not exact.

Although there are many whitening methods for whitening toothpaste, it can be said that "all roads lead to Rome", but in most cases the whitening ability is relatively limited. Therefore, don’t always place your hope on the myth that “swiping will make you whiter”.Compared with whitening, maintaining dental health is the fundamental meaning of brushing teeth.

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