Product focus
in whitening Poor results
Next time whitening disappoints – check your gel! I
t may come as a surprise to some, that all whit- ening gels are not the same. What is much more surprising is the
fact that different batches of the same brand gel can have widely varying compositions on testing.
Gel stability and batch stability Peroxide gels are unstable by nature – that is the reason they whiten teeth. It is also the reason manufacturing, storage, shipping and protocols are so sensitive. Sometimes a particular formula can give outstanding results in the early shelf life – followed by awful results in the medium or long term – shortening the shelf life. Even when the best formula
is used, manufacturing needs to be strictly controlled as do storage, shipping and subse- quent distribution.
Refrigeration/transport Refrigeration is completely absent in most manufacturers’ supply chains – on occasions they will deliver below par heat-affected gels to distrib- utors who have even less knowledge of the problem. Shipping by air costs
many times as much as by sea which can take up to a month. The gels can then sit in the different distributors’ warehouses – sometimes for many months in unrefrigerated conditions – in distribution hubs or even customs. Gel efficacy is continuously dropping from the moment of manufacture to the moment of use.
Commoditise peroxide at your peril Even when a solution to a chal- lenge is found, commercial realities mean that it cannot always be implemented. If it is decided that dentists believe that all ı0 per cent carbamide peroxides are basically the same, it becomes very difficult to persuade brand managers to introduce higher-priced offer- ings based on quality rather than price. The very fact that we
discuss percentages gives the impression that something measurable is indicating the strength and effectiveness of the product. Firstly, the actual concentration of the gel in the syringe may be completely different to what is written on the side, as Matis, Christiansen and Heywood have pointed out several times. Secondly there are many instances where higher concentrations do not in fact give better results, depending on the other ingredients and the inherent stability of the formulae. We have seen gels from the same manufacturer giving lesser results at higher concentration.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Payman Langroudi is a London- based dentist who has been involved in developing teeth whitening systems for the last 12 years. Several systems he has been involved with are being used by thousands of dentists around the world. He is the clinical director at Enlighten. Contact Enlighten on +44 (0)207 4243270
Prove it to yourself Thankfully, effectiveness is relatively easy to measure. It does involve persuading some friendly patients or a DCP to try a split arch treatment. Try one ı0 per cent brand on the left and another on the right and see what the difference is in shade, between the two canines after two weeks. Ask the patient which side was more sensitive too. Even more alarming, try the same test with two syringes of the same brand purchased from two different distributors.
Enlighten’s solution At Enlighten we do these simple split arch tests regularly
along with some very simple chemical indicator tests. We are also constantly looking for and approached by new formulators and we always test every new gel against our existing formula to be sure that ours is the most effective gel that we know of. Our supply chain is short,
stock levels are always kept to an absolute minimum. New software allows us to know exactly when a kit is being used by a dentist and gives us very accurate estimates of our needs going forward, we only use air freight and the entire supply chain is refrigerated. We even incorporate
small ice packs within each bleaching kit. Our fulfilment centre was specifically set up for refrigerated storage, picking and packing. Each kit is assembled on the day of shipping to the practice and we only use the fastest shipping service and test with heat probes on all new routes. We do not work with any
other distributors in the UK and our international partners are all specifically chosen for their attention to detail.
Ireland’s Dental magazine 37
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