Dental News - Orange juice more harmful to teeth than whiteners

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Mon. 13 July 2009

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LEIPZIG, Germany: A glass of orange juice every morning may do more harm to teeth than tooth- whitening products that contain hydrogen peroxide. According to Prof. Yan- Fang Ren from the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, a division within the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester in the US, the effects of professional and over-the-counter whitening products were found to be insignificant compared with that of acidic fruit juices. Earlier this year, research from the Ohio State University in the US found that tooth bleaching had negative effects on tooth enamel hardness.

Prof. Ren and his team used a new focus-variation vertical-scanning microscope to scan the surface of teeth that were exposed to high acidity drinks and tooth-whitening products. They found that orange juice, as an example, can decrease enamel hardness by up to 84 per cent, while no significant change in hardness or surface enamel was evident from whitening.

Weakened and eroded enamel may speed up the wearing of the tooth and increase the risk of tooth decay rapidly developing and spreading.

“There are some studies that showed whitening can affect the hardness of dental enamel, but until now, nobody had compared the two,” Prof. Ren explained. “This study allowed us to understand the effect of whitening on enamel relative to the effect of a daily dietary activity, such as drinking juices.”

Prof. Ren said that there is no effective tool to avert these effects, although there are early indications that higher levels of fluoride may help slow down the erosion. He advises consumers be aware of the acidic nature of beverages, including sodas, fruit juices, and sports and energy drinks, as well as practise good oral hygiene. The longer teeth are in contact with acidic drinks, the more severe the erosion will be, he added.

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