Teeth Whitening Gel and Its Health Effects

Teeth whitening gels have been getting a bad rep recently, as people have been saying they can cause some health problems. These problems that people have been claiming that teeth whitening gels cause are: gum disease, eroded enamel from your teeth, and even mouth cancer. I will be looking into a few of these concerns and helping to put your mind at ease so you can continue your teeth whitening routine.

First of all I will explain why its not possible for a teeth whitening gel to give you gum disease. Gum disease is caused by bacteria, while a tooth whitening gel is simply a neutral pH balance that causes tooth whitening. Since this neutral balance will actually kill most bacteria, this is totally false. That is without even mentioning the fact that it shouldn't even touch your gums in the first place.

Secondly, having it erode the enamel on your teeth is ridiculous since the above fact that it is a neutral pH balance. Your teeth would need to be under the effects of a high acidic liquid for a long period of time before you have any real damage. The enamel on your teeth is surprisingly resilient to things such as this. Now teeth whitening gels can make your teeth more sensitive to hot and cold for a period of time after using, that is quite normal though and will cause no permanent damage.

Finally as for it causing mouth cancer. Like the points earlier say it is very unlikely that anything like this would happen, due to the fact that no one really knows what causes any form of cancer. However, theory suggests that it has nothing to do with any type of acidic or base substances, which is all that a tooth whitening gel is.
So due to the above points, there is nothing really dangerous about using a teeth whitening gel, at least when used as directed. So ensure that you are using them as directed, no extra time and no extra gel. Also for a serious gel you don't want to leave it in overnight, so ensure if you are coming from a different whitening product that you read the instructions on the new one, because it could be very harsh compared to your previous one.

So in short, there is nothing wrong with using a whitening regime. However, you have to keep things within the limites of what the product instructs you then you will be fine. The added benefit of doing it at home and on your own of course being that you will save a bundle of money, rather than going to the dentist and spending ~$400 so its worth learning the instructions.