The rules around the use of hydrogen peroxide in teeth whiteners have been tightened.

There are plenty of treatments that claim to restore your gleaming, white smile – from whitening toothpastes and DIY home treatments to professional whitening in a dental surgery.

Most treatments use hydrogen peroxide to bleach surface stains, but hydrogen peroxide can irritate the gums and cause the teeth to become sensitive. Overuse of these products may even damage tooth enamel and resin fillings.

Last year the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Dental Council asked the Environmental Risk Management Authority to tighten the rules around the use of hydrogen peroxide in teeth whiteners. The authority (now called the Environmental Protection Authority) recently released its decision.

• All teeth whiteners containing hydrogen peroxide will have to carry warnings to stop using the product if you experience irritation, and not to use it for more than 14 days unless the treatment is supervised by a dentist. Because of overseas reports that children and teenagers were over-using tooth whitening strips and bleaches, the label will also warn against children younger than 16 years using these products.
• There will be restrictions on products that contain between 7 and 12 percent hydrogen peroxide. They will only be able to be sold or applied by a dentist, a registered oral health practitioner or a tooth-whitening practitioner.
• Products that contain more than 12 percent hydrogen peroxide will be even more tightly controlled. You will only be able to buy them from a dentist or a registered oral health practitioner, and they will only be able to be applied under the supervision of a dentist.

These new rules will apply from June 2013.

More from consumer.org.nz

• Teeth whiteners – what causes stains, what works and what doesn’t work

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