Smile bar: how does it work?
Leaving the shop located close to his office, Samuel seems delighted. “Satisfied with the result, the relatively ‘reasonable’ price (around €80) and sure to display a dazzling smile for at least three months”, he rejoices. No doubt, it was worth spending the half hour of his lunch break on it.
This framework, soon to be in his forties, is also on his third laundering in a year. “I can’t say it’s very pleasant, but it’s quick and I come out looking better and in high spirits. A bit like those who go to the tanning booths“, he admits. Except that dental surgeons are worried about it, accusing certain shops of illegal practice of dentistry and the use of prohibited products…
So, simple quarrel or real danger? The principle of this technique imported from the United States is quite simple. The client begins with a small toilet with a compress soaked in a “whitening activator”. Then, a silicone tray filled with a whitening gel is placed on the teeth, which by law must not contain more than 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide or sodium perborate. The whole is finally exposed under a cold light lamp for several minutes.
“This pulsed light emits a wavelength that slightly spreads the pores of the tooth and penetrates the gel into the enamel,” explains Nalek Rouichi, communication manager at Magic Smile, a network of franchise stores. The risks and side effects? “There is none, she assures. We can also carry out this bleaching three or four times a year. We only use products that comply with the regulations and the staff has been trained to recognize the nature of the teeth. Before starting a session, we simply check that the client is of legal age and that the women are not pregnant.”
>> To read also: “White teeth kit: a beauty gesture without risks?”
Smile bar: products reserved for doctors?
The point of view of the national order of dental surgeons and its general secretary, Dr Mustard, on these signs is quite different. “These shops are not allowed to use products with a hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide or sodium perborate content greater than 0.1%, he points out. Beyond that, they are potentially dangerous products, to be used with caution (indications, dosage, etc.) and which are reserved for doctors. However, either these establishments comply with the law, and the result is much less spectacular than promised, or they make it possible to gain two to nine shades , as claimed in the advertisements, and the product is necessarily more dosed than what is authorized.”
In addition, dental surgeons who only use hydrogen peroxide for teeth whitening accuse certain shops of knowingly misleading their customers. “They play on words by displaying that they do not use hydrogen peroxide, but sodium perborate, explains Dr Mustard. However, it is exactly the same thing, because the latter releases peroxide of hydrogen in contact with water, and therefore with saliva.”
This was confirmed by François Hébert, Deputy Director General of the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products (Afssaps) last August. “The mentions ‘peroxide-free’ or ‘hydrogen peroxide-free’ for a cosmetic product based on sodium perborate are likely to be considered as misleading commercial practices”, he comments. Worse, sodium perborate is a substance classified by European regulations as “presenting a carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic effect for reproduction”.
>> More information on teeth whitening in our file
Smile bar: shops closed for excessive dosages
To find out more, the National Order of Dental Surgeons has repeatedly seized the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). Bailiffs checked the content of these products in the shops of several departments, after the complaints filed by the Order. They found that many “bars” used gels made in the United States or China, which did not meet European standards. Some so heavily dosed in sodium perborate (up to 35 times more than the authorized concentration) that stores have been closed, in Nevers for example.
Finally, this practice is not without risk. “The poorly controlled or too frequent use of a gel with a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide can lead to irreversible lesions: dental hypersensitivity (appearance of pain accentuated, in particular, by the cold), alteration of the enamel with premature wear and even weakening of the tooth, irritation of the mucous membranes… These products can also degrade the junction between the teeth and the filling materials (amalgams, composites), thus promoting the infiltration of germs and the recurrence of cavities”, warns Dr. Alain Mustard.
>> To read also: “Beautiful teeth, our natural solutions”
Smile bar: a clinical examination is recommended
“Our intention is not to prohibit this commercial activity, but to inform and protect our patients, he continues. The examination of the teeth and the oral mucosa by a dental surgeon is essential before any dental clarification. He alone is able to detect any contraindications and, if necessary, to offer the patient the most appropriate technique, knowing its limits and consequences. Last August, after a new observation by bailiffs, the DGCCRF was again seized… To no effect so far.
In the meantime, pro- and anti-smile bars finally agree on one point: the results! Where regulatory gel is used, no miracles can be expected: the whitening, light and superficial, will disappear in two to three months. Those who want a more important and lasting whitening (three to five years) will have to consult their dentist. He alone is authorized to use more efficient products. After a thorough clinical examination and with respect for the patient’s oral health. But in this case, the price will not be the same: it takes between 300 and 500 €!
Thank you to Dr Alain Moutarde, dental surgeon and general secretary of the National Order of Dental Surgeons.
