What is the Recommended Carbamide Peroxide Level for a Whitening Gel?

You have asked a very sound question.  Sixteen percent carbide peroxide is a very basic level of bleach to whiten your teeth.  This is equivalent to approximately 5-6 percent hydrogen peroxide.  If you have sensitive teeth this would probably be a good place to start.  If you get your whitening from a dental office you can also be given some fluoride to use in conjunction with the bleaching to help keep your sensitivity under control.  

The best at home products are made with hydrogen peroxide that break down into oxygen and water. carbamide peroxide breaks down into urea. They also contain ingredients that can pull calcium out of the teeth. 15% carbamide is the same strength as 5% hydrogen peroxide. IntelliWHiTE Ultra is 9% Hydrogen peroxide. Results are quick.

 

15-16% is very low. If your teeth are sensitive a complete examination would be in order to determine the cause of the sensitivity. A complete exam by your dentist should help determine if the sensitivity can be treated. There are different gels and pastes available to aid in desensitizing the tooth. Zoom whitening has a special toothpaste that is used before whitening is completed. Contact your local ZOOM provider before your proceed with treatment.

After having done whitening for more than twenty years, here's what works best:


If you have sensitive teeth, De-sensitize first for two weeks. THEN start your whitening. We use a lot of prescription strength Fluoride gel in my office to accomplish this.

Find a time of day (or it's even OK to leave your trays in while you sleep) that you can do your whitening every day. 

EVERYBODY gets sensitive at some point, Skip a couple of days, but then get right back to it.

Sensitive patients should start at 10%. You may be able to work up to 16% later. If you start with too high of a percentage, you will be VERY sensitive and you will wind up stopping and not really accomplishing any real whitening.

Very good question. The answer depends on how fast you want to whiten and how sensitive your teeth are. 15-16% is fairly low and considered non prescription. You can get this same percentage from a number of reputable manufacturers. Some people are mixing up whiteners in their bathtubs and selling them online to unsuspecting consumers. Be careful to purchase whitening gel from reputable sources. Especially when online.

The previous answers to your question cover the answer well. Dr. Greenhaigh's answer is a great summary and i agree. My only addition would be to work with your dentist to find an appropriate interval that works with your sensitivity: example: every day or every three days, all night or one hour. Bottom line is every one gets to have whiter teeth if approached methodically.

Carbamide proxide is not as good as hydrogen peroxide. There are many factors involved regarding whitening . All these factors have to be customized to the patient's needs and conditions


The active ingredient.

The strength of the product.

the time the product stays in contact with teeth

the delivery system,( in office ,trays, strips, pastes)

The sensitivity level of patient


In my office, we premeditate the patients who have sensitive teeth for 2 weeks, then Zoom them because it has the least amount of contact while getting whitened, give them special toothpastes to use afterwards. If the Zoom is too strong ( while being treated they feel some "zinging"), we stop the Zoom process, and give them home whitening kits that are strong enough to whiten quickly, but used in 20-60 minutes only while they use desensitizing toothpastes.

 

good luck.

 

 

 

Before you get started, understand that whitening your teeth is dependant on the length of time the whitener is in contact with your teeth.  Using an over the counter or internet purchased kit will give you a nice result but for best results you will need a combination in-office and at-home technique (Zoom and trays or KOR whitening) or a well fitting set of professionally made trays for at-home bleaching (Night White, Opalescence,etc).  These trays will keep the bleach in contact with your teeth and avoid the leaking of bleach from the tray or saliva into it, rendering the whitener less effective.  In my area (Pennsylvania), tray whitening is pretty inexpensive and many offices actually offer it as a new patient marketing teaser.  Look around for such an offer or talk to your dentist to see how much he charges for this service. 

Now to answer your question, Carbamide Peroxide is a more stable form than hydrogen peroxide so many OTC and internet brands will be of this type.  It is actually about a third as powerful so a 16% carbamide is similar to a 6% hydrogen.  In my opinion, the hydrogen peroxide whiteners are superior in that they do not have to go through the conversion from carbamide to hydrogen before they become activated.  They simply go to work and whiten faster.  I would use the highest concentration that you can tolerate and consider using fluoride (or Relief gel- Discus Dental) in the trays for 5 minutes, waiting an hour then do your bleaching.  This should keep your sensitivity to a minimum.  Also KOR power bleaching works GREAT and with little to no sensitivity. 

I hope you find this information of use.