DNA-damaging effects of dental bleaching agents

Safety Assessment of Hydrogen Peroxide as Used in Cosmetics

The Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety (Panel) assessed the safety of Hydrogen Peroxide for use in cosmetics. This ingredient is reported to function in cosmetics as an antimicrobial agent, cosmetic biocide, oral health care agent, and oxidizing agent. The Panel reviewed the data relevant to the safety of this ingredient and concluded that Hydrogen Peroxide is safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment.

Influence of smoking on oral cells genotoxicity after at-home bleaching using 22% carbamide peroxide: a cohort study

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the influence of smoking on the oral cells genotoxicity before and after at-home bleaching using 22% carbamide peroxide (CP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a prospective observational analytics cohort study which evaluated nonsmokers (NS; n = 24) and smokers (S; n = 16) patients. At-home bleaching was performed using 22% CP gel in individual trays for 1 h per day for 14 days in both groups. Scrapped cells from marginal gums were collected before the bleaching treatment (D0-baseline) and 1 day (D1), 15 days (D15), and 1 month (D30) after its finishing. Cells were stained with Giemsa 10%, and the micronucleus (MN) and metanuclear alterations (MA) were counted by a trained operator in 1000 cells per patient. The collections and data analysis occurred blindly. Data was analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn, and Mann-Whitney test (α = 0.05).

RESULTS

MN frequency was not influenced by smoking or bleaching. An increase of MA was observed between D0 and D30 for both groups (p < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was found between NS and S (p > 0.05) in the evaluation times.

CONCLUSION

Smoking associated with 22% carbamide peroxide gel for at-home bleaching does not show genotoxic potential analyzed by the MN counts. However, a significant increase of MA was found for smokers and nonsmokers.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Despite of the increase in MA, smoking associated with 22% CP peroxide at-home bleaching showed no important genotoxic potential (MN) for oral cells. Therefore, at-home bleaching treatment is safe for nonsmokers and smokers even with a high carbamide peroxide concentration of 22%.