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Teeth
bleaching history
Teeth bleaching has revolutionized cosmetic dentistry. I can remember very
well in the 1980s when it was introduced to the dental
profession. A very few cosmetic dentists had been bleaching teeth for a long
time, since the early 1900s, but it wasn't generally talked about. Cosmetic dentists Ronald Goldstein
and Ron Feinman in Atlanta were the ones who began teaching the technique
around the country. At that time the only whitening technique available was the
power bleaching light which was similar to the Zoom and Brite Smile and
other in-office bleaching treatments. The patient would sit in the dental
chair for twenty or thirty minutes with the teeth soaked in Superoxol (30%
hydrogen peroxide), under a bright bleaching light. At the end of the
appointment the teeth would be a bright but chalky white, which would fade
over the next week. We would then repeat the treatment three to ten times to
achieve a very satisfying whitening of the teeth.
Then around 1989 the at-home tray bleaching system was announced and became
popular very quickly. It was the big buzz at the American Academy of
Cosmetic Dentistry annual meeting in St. Thomas.
Two dentists, Dr. Haywood and Dr. Heymann
published a paper, "Nightguard vital bleaching" in the March 1989 issue of
Quintessence International, a highly respected professional dental
journal. They got the idea from an obscure paper in a state dental journal.
Once it was published in Quintessence International, the idea took
off. For their bleaching agent they used an intraoral antiseptic gel called
Proxigel which had 10% carbamide peroxide as its active ingredient.
A company called Omnii then made a carbamide peroxide gel specifically
designed for teeth whitening. They tried to corner the market on the whitening gel,
using what some dentists felt were strong-arm tactics, but they were unsuccessful. They put out a
kit for dental offices that had the whitening gel, but they required the
offices to buy their gross-tasting fluoride gels and other oral care
products together with the whitening gel. Our office responded by asking a
local pharmacist to make up a gel with a cellulose base, some carbamide
peroxide, and a flavoring agent. It worked as well as the Omnii product, was
much cheaper, and I could avoid buying the unnecessary accessory products
that Omnii was trying to push. I remember getting a letter from the Omnii
attorney threatening a lawsuit for patent infringement. I wrote a defiant
reply and never heard from him again.
Bill Dorfman, a cosmetic dentist from Beverly Hills, decided to enter with
his own bleaching gel. He hired a chemist to make the gel have a longer
shelf life and monkeyed around with some of the other properties, and Nite
White was born. Other products were introduced. In the great spirit of
competition that characterizes American capitalism, improvements continued
to be made. The sensitivity issue was addressed. More powerful whiteners
were introduced. Bleaching lights were re-introduced with new, easier ways
to administer them.
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