Pictured above: Dr Emily Wright BDS

A Shrewsbury dentist has praised the internet shopping portals Amazon, eBay and Google, which last week banned potentially dangerous illegal tooth whitening products from sale on their sites.

Dr Emily Wright  BDS said the products in question contained high levels of chemicals which could seriously damage teeth, lips and gums.  

"Tooth whitening has become very popular in recent times," says Emily who is based at The Dental Spa on Oxon Business Park, "and home tooth whitening products are now available from High Street chemist chains and on the internet. However, home whitening kits are by law restricted to a very low strength chemical whitening agent. In fact the permitted hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide content for tooth whitening products is just 0.1 percent." 

"But because this low strength makes the whitening process fairly ineffectual, some rogue manufacturers have obviously decided to increase the strength of the chemicals to try and sell more products. The outcomes are, however, potentially dangerous and people need to be made aware of this."

"It is an unfortunate fact of life that teeth can become yellowed with age, or stained from smoking or drinking tea, coffee and red wine. With whitening products which use hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, as the active ingredient is broken down oxygen gets into the enamel on the teeth and the tooth colour is made lighter." 

"The safest and most effective method of tooth whitening uses a diode laser. This non-invasive treatment can make teeth up to five or six shades lighter, but it can only be carried out by a qualified dental professional."