Teeth whitener

[AK]

I am a retired chemist and used very strong concentrations of hydrogen peroxide.

I bought some teeth whitener that uses hydrogen peroxide in a high percentage.

I was not happy with the results.

I noticed that it ate the rubber in the syringe where it was stored.

So, I started freezing the ones I was not using.

I decided to try to salvage it by washing out the H2O3 and using the syringe.

I found that the rubber on the syringe had "melted."

That, to me was scary.

Do you think the rubber was of low quality?

Andy

[hubops]

Perhaps. John T.

[rbowman]

Trioxidane? H2O2 is an oxidizer. You do not specify the concentration or the type of rubber but I am not surprised it degraded. Buna N in particular is not compatible. If you want to experiment pick up a couple of buna n o-rings at the hardware store and see how they react.

[Frank]

He did not say percentages and did have a slip in formula. I personally would not haphazardly treat my teeth just because I am a chemist and can guess what might work. I would use proven formulas.

I once had a gallon of the highest concentration of peroxide available. It was at least 90%. It was in a brown glass bottle and did not degrade in the 6 months or so I used it.

[Dan Espen]

I'm not a chemist but I can impers Does rubber oxidize? Thermal-Oxidative Degradation of Rubber. Most elastomers will undergo significant changes over time when exposed to heat, light, or oxygen (ozone). ... The aging of a rubber due to oxidation and heat is greatly accelerated by stress, and exposure to other reactive gases like ozone.

H2O2 (why do you call it H2O3 above>?) is a pretty good oxidizer. I'd be a bit surprised to find out a syringe has actual rubber in it, I'd expect some kind of petroleum product, but would still not be surprised to see it oxidize. Oxygen is pretty reactive stuff.

Learn something every day, H2O3 would be Trioxidane. An unstable Hydrogen Peroxide which I'm sure you don't have.

[Dan Espen]

Yeah, my dentist keeps asking if I want my teeth whitened. Can't figure out why I'd want that. I also can't figure out how to smile with my teeth showing.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Mine's a nice guy. His office does whitening, but he doesn't push it. When I get crowns he's very careful to match them to the natural color of my teeth.

OTOH, I've never smoked.

I probably can do it spontaneously, but not deliberately. I should ask my husband--he's got a great sense of humor and always makes me smile and laugh.

Cindy Hamilton

[trader_4]

Unstated here is what was the expiration date of the product? If it was within the expiration window, I'd be surprised if the rubber, or whatever material it actually is, degraded badly. If was way past, then I would not be so surprised, but still you'd think they would use a material that would stand up to it better.

[invalid unparseable]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 10:58:01 -0400, Dan Espen posted for all of us to digest...

I'm not a gynecologist but I'll take a look.

[Hawk]

You're a chemist.....shouldn't you know?

[Dan Espen]

He's a chemist that thinks Hydrogen Peroxide is H2O3, thinks something dissolving is melting, thinks all pliable substances are rubber, and is scared of things he thinks are "melting".

Yeah, he gave me some crap a while back, just in the mood to return the favor.

[trader_4]

Ouch!

[AK]

I do not seek extreme whiteness. :-)

I just want my teeth to be less yellow.

Andy

[AK]

Excuse me for making a mistake. H202

Andy

[Cindy Hamilton]

Ask your dentist. Figure out what makes your teeth yellow and stop those behaviors.

If I had something that "ate" rubber, I wouldn't put it in my mouth.

Cindy Hamilton

[Dan Espen]

I assumed. Anyway looking up H2O3 was pretty interesting. So you were going to put peroxide in syringes and squirt it on your teeth? That's scary all by itself.

If I was going to do something like that, I think I'd dip a toothbrush in dilute peroxide and apply the toothbrush to my teeth.

If I remember right, the dentist said the whiteners would whiten the teeth but not the filling material. So I'd need a dentist anyway. Yep:

Although the whitening process won't damage your past treatments, it may not be effective on these parts of your teeth. For instance, if you've had fillings and crowns; these whitening products will not work on them. The rest of your teeth will be whitened. However, no teeth whitener will work on fillings or crowns.

[Frank]

Mentioned, I am also a retired chemist. I advise, do not experiment on yourself. Use commercially developed products and I would also advise on the mild side like a tooth whitening tooth paste.

Personally I brush after every meal and see my dentist twice a year and dental hygienist cleans my teeth.

[micky]

When I got some implants, the dentist was spending time picking out the right color and it dawned on me that if I ever got my teeth whitened, the current color wouldn't match. So I asked him about whitening and he said if I did it, I'd have to do it every few months to keep the same color.

[invalid unparseable]

On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:14:10 -0400, Frank posted for all of us to digest...

You don't use a wire brush? ;-)