Charcoal-How Can It Help You If It's Hurting You?

There's a story my grandmother told me about an animal that was very thirsty, and was licking everything to find water. It started licking a file, causing its tongue to bleed.  The animal tasted liquid and thought this was good, until it was too late (and it was bad).  This reminds me of an extremely disturbing trend I have seen with some patients recently.

I feel it is my obligation as a dentist warn you against DIY whitening that involves abrading tooth surfaces with a charcoal-derived black mixture. The method, which leads to enamel deterioration and tooth erosion, apparently has became an online sensation, and videos on YouTube began to get millions of views demonstrating this technique.

Some videos claim the charcoal mixture as “highly absorbent,” implying or stating that impurities, stains and bacteria will be absorbed by the charcoal mixture, which in turn cause whitening of the tooth surfaces. But this is not correct. While the cosmetic result of the method may produce a whitening effect, the effect is produced by reducing layers of your enamel, which cannot be regrown. This reduces the structural integrity of the tooth.

Your teeth are not like your hair, skin, or nails—all of those comes back. Teeth are the only part of the ectoderm that does not replenish or heal itself— once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Zoom! professional bleaching products that we use in our West Hartford dental office and Downtown New Britain dental office, and at-home bleaching trays we can provide, seep approved and tested bleaching material through the enamel and into the inner layer of the tooth called the dentin, which influences tooth color. and other bleaching products we prescribe do not erode the enamel. The charcoal supplement will also have wide variation in the amount of enamel that is removed, from person to person, because they will use it differently, applying different pressures, and removing differing amounts of tooth structure.

The amount of enamel this trendy product removes leaves the tooth susceptible to greater deterioration and erosion from other dietary sources, such as soda, acid and bacteria-fueling-sugar, which can lead to sensitivity and cavities. In fact I recently had two patients complaining of tooth sensitivity, and they admitted that it started after they began using charcoal self-whitening products!

In the long-term, the results couldn’t be worse. When you lose enamel, teeth get sensitive and darker in color because you get closer to the part of the tooth that has the depth of the color. Since you can’t grow it back, the only thing you’ll be able to do is cover it up with a number of crowns or a possibly a set of veneers.

To avoid these risks, I recommend patients who are interested in whitening their teeth opt instead for formally tested dental procedures or at-home whitening trays provided by their dentist. You’ll likely have much better results, and over time, you won’t see the permanent erosion of charcoal.

Keep smiling,  

Dr.Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD is a private practice dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and Downtown New Britain, Connecticut.  She is a Clinical Instructor at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and has won several awards naming her regional “Best Dentist” and “Top Dentist.” She is an active member of the Connecticut State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Tel: 860-561-2121