Colgate Peroxyl mouthwash - Question to those who use it

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#1 Post by **beanstix** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:57 am

Colgate Peroxyl - what a great mouthwash - it really does leave your mouth feeling zingy fresh, however I've noticed on the instructions that it says "may reduce staining" and I'm wondering, due to the hydrogen peroxide (1.5% w/v) content, whether it may slightly lighten teeth compared to the areas under the brackets and thus create two tone teeth when braces come off? . I will ask my hygienist at my next visit however in the meantime....

What do you think, people?

#2 Post by **fins** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:58 pm

Good post. Please let us know what you find out. I use this product quite a bit since my nance is huge problem for me. The braces are no problem at all, go figure! I don't want to stain my teeth and have been really careful about that.

#3 Post by SW » Wed Oct 12, 2005 2:18 pm

That's interesting beanstix, my bottle doesn't mention anything about staining. Maybe that's something new on the label. Colgate Peroxyl isn't really a mouthwash. It's an antiseptic oral cleanser (their fancy description is an oral debriding agent/oral wound cleanser) and apparently the foaming action of the peroxide removes debris and allows healing to occur with canker sores, gum inflammation, and irritations. It does say not to use it for more than 7 days unless directed by a dentist or physician, but that probably is for people who are not seeking medical advice to treat a persistent problem and think they can cure themselves by using the Peroxyl instead. I love Peroxyl, I have used it quite a bit since wearing braces, even occasionally as a mouthwash, but mainly if there is an irritation. I also have used whitening toothpaste occasionally and can tell you this: I am at the one year mark for wearing braces, and a couple of weeks ago my ortho repositioned several brackets during my appointment. Before they were glued on I had to rinse my mouth since they had removed the adhesive and I took a look in the mirror to see if there were any whiter/darker spots. I didn't see any, so I don't think the Peroxyl will cause any problems. Maybe if you used it as a mouthwash several times a day, used whitening toothpaste all of the time, or used the whitening toothpaste that contains peroxide at the same time. I don't know, but I wouldn't worry about it.

#4 Post by **Metal Mouth Guy** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:23 pm

Using a bit of inverted logic, I'm gonna say don't worry. My ortho gives out Peroxyl whenever a patient wants. He recommends it as good stuff for mouth sores. If it caused an inversed staining problem, I wouldn't think he'd recommend it.

MMG

#5 Post by **LiveWire** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:08 pm

I think that it sounds right that it would not stain. I have only been using it for a couple of weeks, but i can't see that my ortho would recommend it if there was any problems with staining...

Good to hear SW that when you took your brackets off there were no marks after a year...

Take care..

#6 Post by **TuZZi** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:04 pm

Ah, I just bought another bottle of it today. Mine doesn't say anything about staining on it either..... maybe there's 2 different kinds? Or maybe in Canada ours is different?

Either way, Peroxyl is lovely... unlike some other rinses, I can tell this one actually does something.

#7 Post by **beanstix** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:33 am

Many thanks for useful and reassuring replies.

SW - thanks for letting us know about your bracket repositioning - glad to hear that your teeth weren't two toned!

On the Peroxyl instructions it says:

"The duration of treatment should not exceed 7 days, after this period consult your doctor or dentist"

"If any of the following occur over the 7 day use of Peroxyl, consult your doctor or dentist: irritation persists or becomes severe ... fever... swelling... blah blah blah...

"may REDUCE staining"

As SW has pointed out it may say 'don't use for longer than 7 days' as they don't want you to self-medicate and not address a problem with a dentist.

However - me being of a cautious nature (yep, boring, I know) - the more I re-read the instructions I can't help thinking that it's for short term use or occasional use and not daily, on-going for say, 2 years .... also, much as I like using it, from an overall health perspective, is it really healthy to keep bombarding our mouths with all these various chemicals? They must be absorbed to some extent - and to keep absorbing hydrogen peroxide over a long period of time ... hmmm ...

Will report back after hygienist appt - that's not until December though - can't ask my ortho as she's about as communicative as a brick and I'm rationed to 10 words per visit.