[TJ96]

Hello y'all.

New to this forum and a total layman (but very curious). Please excuse my flaws in regards to the english language. I'm still learning, but prefer to get my information from the other side of the world because most studies and information is released/published firstly in english most of the times anyway.

I was about to join a dental focussed forum, but thought I'd go "to the root" of my question.


I started using a bleaching set (for my teeth) which comes with a liquid and a UV light.

The liquid contains (stated by the manufacturer) the following ingredients:

Glycerin
Propylene glycol
Sodium chlorite
Water
Xanthan Gum
Sodium metasilicate
Cellulose Gum
Aroma
Sodium dehydroacetate
Xylitol
Phenoxyethanol
Sodium bicarbonate
Disodium-Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Disodium-EDTA)

and a UV-light.

I decided to give it a try, even though I wasn't convinced it would bring any changes and albeit someone told me his dentist said that these contents won't have any effect.


However.. I indeed noticed some (small) changes after a few weeks of daily usage which couldn't be explained with placebo or the increase in dental hygiene (brushing the teeth before and after the 45 minute procedure).


The manufacturer claims that the glycerin is producing "oxygen and gets rid of discolorations because of the concentrated oxidation".

The Propylene glycole "is removing pigments and colouring by binding to them".

And the Sodium chlorite "brightens up the colour of the teeth from the inside"



Basically my question is, if these statements are true. Doesn't Sodium chlorite has to become Chlorine dioxide before it has a bleaching effect? And am I right that the Glycerin is reacting with Oxygen, which will result in carbon dioxide and water (which actually may have a slightly bleaching effect)?

I'm trying to get the whole picture while learning a bit about chemistry. Hopefully the expertise in this forum can clarify the foggy view a little.


Kind regards
TJ

[billnotgatez]

It is against this forum rules to give medical advice

[Borek]

The manufacturer claims that the glycerin is producing "oxygen and gets rid of discolorations because of the concentrated oxidation".

The Propylene glycole "is removing pigments and colouring by binding to them".

And the Sodium chlorite "brightens up the colour of the teeth from the inside"

These sound like a word salad to me. Even ChatGPT BS typically sounds more convincing