Teeth-whitening foams are hoax, don’t fall prey to marketing strategies

Hyderabad: Advertisements for foam mouthwashes that claim to remove stubborn tartar and whiten the teeth are attracting many on social media. The viral product is identified as Teeth Pro foam mouthwash.

The viral advertisements claim to have multiple benefits like teeth brightening, removing odor, cleaning tartar, preventing tooth decay, and fresh breath.

The question is do these teeth-whitening foaming mouthwashes actually work?

FACT CHECK

NewsMeter found that the claims are false.

Your teeth are composed of four dental tissues. Three of them are enamel, dentin, and cementum which are considered hard tissues. The fourth tissue is the center of the tooth which contains nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue which is a soft tissue. Tampering the hard tissues can be risky for your teeth.

According to Healthline, “Some abrasives can damage your tooth enamel if used too often or in the long term.”

It added, “Enamel is your teeth’s hard exterior. Unlike other parts of a tooth, the enamel is not made of living cells, so it doesn’t repair itself once it has worn away.”

According to a study, “The whitening market has a large economic volume, i.e., the competition between manufacturers is high, and not all claims are based on solid scientific evidence. In general, a great challenge for planning and conducting clinical studies in the field of teeth whitening is the selection of population-representative inclusion criteria as teeth staining is strongly correlated to the diet and other factors.”

Another study titled “Tooth Whitening: What We Now Know” said only hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide-based teeth whiteners are considered safe and effective. It also talked about the risks associated with tooth whiteners which includes increased tooth sensitivity and mild gingival irritation.

“There are additional risks that have been reported from in vitro studies which include tooth erosion, tooth mineral degradation, increased susceptibility to demineralization, and pulpal damage,” the study warned.

It is evident that there is no evidence to back the claims that teeth-whitening mouthwashes can clean tartar and prevent decay. Rather, we found multiple risks associated with using these products. It is always better to seek a dentist’s advice and supervision.