How do teeth whitening toothpastes work?
The primary mode of action of teeth whitening toothpastes is one of abrasion. The formulation of the typical whitening toothpaste will be such that it includes minute, mildly abrasive particles (usually aluminum oxide, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, hydrated silicas or calcium carbonate). The scrubbing motion of the bristles of a toothbrush in combination with the presence of these small particles creates an action that can have an effect where it scours debris off the surface of teeth. So, as opposed to peroxide-based teeth whiteners where the whitening effect is produced by a chemical change that occurs within a tooth, whitening toothpastes produce a whitening effect solely by way of removing accumulated debris off a tooth’s external surface. For this reason, teeth whitening toothpastes are sometimes referred to as “nonbleaching” whitening products.
