Researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health wanted to see the negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products.
Eastman Institute’s YanFang Ren, DDS, PhD, and his researchers looked at the effects of 6 percent hydrogen peroxide which the common ingredient in professional and over-the-counter whitening product. They also looked at acidic fruit juices and found that orange juice markedly decreased hardness and increased roughness of tooth enamel.
The researchers found that the acid is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away. The orange juice decreased enamel hardness by 84 percent.” However, no significant change in hardness or surface enamel was found when they looked at teeth whitening products.
Weakened and eroded enamel may speed up the wear of the tooth and increases the risk for tooth decay. Like soda and acidic fruit juices orange juice can potentially cause significant erosion of teeth.”
It’s long been known that juice and sodas have high acid content, and can negatively affect enamel hardness. There are also some studies that showed whitening can affect the hardness of dental enamel, but until now, nobody had compared the two.
It is important for consumers to understand the acidic nature of beverages, such as fruit juices, sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks. It also depends on how people drink the drink. People who sip their drinks slowly over 20 minutes are more likely to have tooth erosion than those who drink quickly and do not extend the duration of drinking.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center.