In vitro evaluation of variances between real and declared concentration of hydrogen peroxide in various tooth-whitening products

Abstract

Objectives. The aim of this in vitro study was to analyze the real hydrogen peroxide (HP) concentration in various commercially available tooth-whitening products containing HP and/or carbamide peroxide (CP). Materials and methods. Sixteen commercially available tooth-whitening products containing various concentrations of CP or HP were investigated. The products were divided into four groups: dentist-supervised home bleaching products (Group 1, n = 5), in-office bleaching products (Group 2, n = 4), over-the-counter bleaching products (Group 3, n = 3) and whitening toothpastes and rinses (Group 4, n = 4). The peroxide concentration was determined using the oxy-reduction titration method. All the reagents used in the study were of analytic grade and freshly prepared before the experiment. Results. The HP concentration in various dentist-supervised home bleaching products and in-office bleaching products ranged from 3.02–37.08% (expected range = 3–38%). The HP concentration of over-the-counter whitening products ranged from 1.24–5.57% (expected range cannot be estimated as no concentration of active ingredient was provided). Among whitening toothpastes and rinses, Colgate Plax whitening rinse showed more than 1% HP concentration, whereas it was lower than 0.05% in other whitening toothpastes and oral rinses (expected range cannot be estimated as no active ingredient was mentioned). Conclusions. HP concentration of most of the professional tooth-whitening products was different from the expected concentrations, although the deviations were small and most of the products were close to the expected concentration. No concentration of active ingredient was provided for over-the-counter whitening products and no active ingredient was mentioned for whitening toothpastes and rinses.

Key Words:

• Tooth bleaching
• tooth whitening
• hydrogen peroxide
• carbamide peroxide

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge funding by the South African Dental Association, Dentistry Development Foundation fund and University of Western Cape research grant.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.