Carbamide Peroxide – Just What Is It?

If you have been looking at teeth whitening you are likely to have noticed that the words “Carbamide Peroxide” appear in relation to many teeth bleaching products. It’s a rather scary looking scientific name and not really part of your normal daily vocabulary. So the following is to help explain what it is and what it does – in the simplest terms possible.

Carbamide Peroxide is actually an oxidizer also known as urea peroxide or percarbamide. Simply out an oxidizer releases oxygen when mixed with water. In its pure form Carbamide Peroxide it is a white powder or crystal. When used in teeth whitening procedures the Carbamide Peroxide breaks down into urea and hydrogen peroxide, the two important components of the whitening process.

In teeth bleaching the oxidizing agent penetrates the tooth enamel and bleaches the intrinsic stains. In case you are interested Carbamide Peroxide is also a common ingredient in applications to break down ear wax.

History – The Romans were known to have whitened their teeth with Carbamide but after that time this practice fell out of popular favour. Carbamide Peroxide was traditionally used as an oral antiseptic to treat in mouth sources and inflammations. The side affect of whitening the teeth was observed and in the late 1960s some studies began into its effectiveness. But it didn’t become truly popular until the 1980’s when cosmetic dentistry began to offer many teeth whitening options and new products.

Dentist Usage – A survey done 2000 by G Wiseman found that most dentists were offering home whitening products but at the same time that only half of them were doing these procedures in house. The benefit to the dentist of supporting the home based treatments was to reduce the in-chair time and costs of having a patient in the dental office. The second main benefit to the dentist was that the home based treatments were found to have a high rate of success and was safe to use.

There are several ways to use whiten teeth from the natural bleaching end of the spectrum through to dental surgery laser bleaching. The most common form of home treatment is a bleaching gel applied to the teeth using a tooth tray.

Scientific Study – In another study done in 2000 dental researchers from the Indianapolis school of dentistry compared a Carbamide Peroxide application to an equivalent application of Hydrogen peroxide in a teeth whitening study. Their observations were done over a period of 12 weeks on a sample of 24 people. Their findings showed that teeth in Carbamide Peroxide group were significantly lighter for the 1st two weeks of the study. However by the end of the twelve week study there was little difference between the two methods. There was also little difference between the two methods in terms of teeth sensitivity or gingival sensitivity. They therefore concluded either application would provide suitable results.

So in summary Carbamide Peroxide is a natural substance that release two key chemicals used in teeth whitening – hydrogen peroxide and urea.