Why should tooth whiteners used with tray-based whitening technique be formulated with carbamide peroxide?
Throughout our text we have made reference to the use of a carbamide peroxide whitener with tray-based teeth whitening technique. You might ask yourself, what is carbamide peroxide and why is it used in tooth whitener formulations? As you can discern from its name, carbamide peroxide is a type of peroxide. Peroxides are a class of compounds, the most well known one probably being hydrogen peroxide. You may already be familiar with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is sold as a household antiseptic. Usually it comes in a brown bottle and has a concentration of 3%. In the case of tooth whiteners it is their peroxide component that is their active ingredient. Peroxide molecules break down (oxidize) pigmented compounds trapped in a tooth’s enamel into colorless byproducts, thus producing a lightening effect. As it happens, the peroxide that is counted upon to perform this oxidation process is hydrogen peroxide. So, right now you may be wondering why, since it is hydrogen peroxide that d
