UV Teeth Whitening - Not As Safe As it Seems

by Laurie Peterson



What is UV teeth whitening? The teeth whitening industry is a $300M a year market that shows no signs of slowing down. As practitioners look for newer and more dramatic methods for whitening teeth, UV lasers have become increasingly prevalent on the professional whitening scene.

What is UV Teeth Whitening?

In summary, light-activated whitening of the teeth is usually a combination of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide with lights or lasers of various wavelengths that are meant to speed up the whitening process.

According to Christopher Waniek, author of an article on UV whitening, the process can damage gums, lips and eyes-and studies have also indicated that the lights do not improve bleaching. UV light treatments expose the recipient to as much as four times the radiation that a person would receive in natural sunbathing, Waniek says, and with continued use, could cause cataracts.

While sunbathing in UV tanning beds is a common and widely accepted practice, the risks and dangers can be significant. Clearly, those risks exist for UV whitening as well.

Experts note that it can be particularly dangerous to obtain laser whitening from sources such like mall kiosks, since they are typically run by personnel who aren't qualified to assess oral health sufficiently to determine if UV whitening is safe or appropriate for you.

For tanning salons, the ability to offer UV teeth whitening for clients who are already comfortable with the risks of UV treatment is an attractive proposition. And there is no doubt that combining laser light with carbamide or hydrogen peroxide whitening is the method that produces the most dramatic and immediate appearance of whitening results. Laser whitening makes the tooth's surface extremely dry. Much of the immediate apparent improvement is lost as teeth return to their normal state of hydration in the ensuing 1-2 days. Furthermore, laser whitening makes the teeth more porous, allowing them to darken and stain more readily than before without regular maintenance treatments.

Is UV whitening for you?

In summary, with the risks of UV whitening-and the limited results-why would anybody engage on this practice? The limitations are clearly documented-however, the wish for a quick and dramatic whitening solution is so great that for some individuals, just as with UV tanning booths, the lure of UV whitening treatments will always remain. As with any aesthetic treatment, you should research your choices carefully, as this is the best means of protecting your safety and ensuring that the treatments you invest in will produce the safest and most effective results.

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