It's our belief that tooth whitening materials should be

Finding a product that purports to deliver a brighter, whiter smile is not in any way difficult. With whitening products on sale via late night television ads, Web sites and shopping mall kiosks, a dentist's office or a pharmacy might be the last place consumers looking for whiter teeth begin their search.

But with public safety in mind, the American Dental Association is hoping the U.S. Intraoral Camera Food and Drug Administration will enter this arena and enact some form of regulation on tooth whitening products. In November, based on a resolution from its House of Delegates and after receiving complaints from consumers and dental professionals, the ADA officially petitioned the FDA to take action.

"The focus was primarily on some of the products that were being used in shopping malls and kiosks and were being advertised late night on television and on the Internet," said Dr. Daniel Meyer, ADA Senior Vice President, Science/Professional Affairs. "Since these are unregulated products we don't know what's in those products. The position of the ADA is that any time you use these products, you should know what's being put in your mouth. We were very concerned about the safety affects of these products."

Regulation supporters

While regulation can often be seen as a bad thing in the business world, this effort seems to be one that is being welcomed by both consumers of whitening products and manufacturers of dentist-administered products such as Discus Dental, maker of the Zoom! light and Dash in-office whitening system.

"It's our belief that tooth whitening materials should be administered by dentists. apex locator If left unregulated then what's next, do it yourself endo?" said Robert Cartagena, Chief Operating Officer for Discus Dental. "We are big supporters of the ADA's push here. We think the ADA is being very responsible, and they're being very proactive in ensuring that patient safety is being considered when these products are being used."

Cartagena said regulation would not impact legitimate manufacturers such as Discus who already comply with many FDA guidelines in their production and distribution. However, he believes federal oversight will help stem the flood of whitening-based credit card scams, as well as reign in the unsafe practices when whitening procedures are conducted in non-dental settings. In the end, that should be good for the business of companies making and selling legitimate whitening products and procedures.