No, chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse does not whiten your teeth because it doesn’t possess the ability to bleach them whiter.
As a matter of fact, the opposite might happen where you could end up causing more teeth staining if you rinse with it. The reason is because its sole purpose is to reduce bacteria in the mouth and one of the unfortunate side effects is tooth discoloration.
We will explain in greater detail what all of that means.
Chlorhexidine doesn’t whiten teeth
Chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse doesn’t whiten teeth because it isn’t a whitening mouth rinse nor does it contain hydrogen peroxide. The combination of these two factors mean that it does not possess the ability to bleach your teeth whiter.
Key points:
- It’s a prescription rinse but it’s not meant to whiten your teeth.
- It lacks the quintessential ingredient (hydrogen peroxide) which bleaches your teeth.
Not a whitening mouthwash
Most obviously why chlorhexidine oral rinse doesn’t whiten teeth is the fact that it doesn’t list whitening anywhere on its label. You can look as hard as you want but you will not find the words whitening mouthwash on the label.
Typically, most oral care products that can whiten teeth will have the word “whitening” on its label. It is a major selling point and manufacturers want to make sure that you know it can make your teeth whiter. These products will blatantly advertise the whitening potential.
In summary, chlorhexidine is a prescription antibiotic rinse but it is not a whitening mouth rinse. If you wanted a mouthwash that can whiten, you should look for alternatives.
Mouthwashes that can whiten teeth:
- Colgate Optic White Whitening Mouthwash
- Crest 3D White Glamorous White Mouthwash
- 3% Hydrogen peroxide
Doesn’t contain peroxide
The primary reason why chlorhexidine doesn’t make teeth whiter is because it lacks hydrogen peroxide. A commonality among all whitening products that work is that they all contain a form of peroxide.
Examples of whitening products with peroxide:
- KoR Night Whitening
- Opalescence BOOST
- Colgate optic white pro series toothpaste
Hydrogen peroxide is the only ingredient in existence which can bleach your teeth whiter.
- The breakdown of peroxide creates powerful oxidizing free radicals.
- The free radicals diffuse through the tooth and oxidize all of the stains.
- Oxidized stains will make the teeth appear whiter.
Ultimately, if your whitening product does not contain peroxide it will be an ineffective bleaching product. Since chlorhexidine does not have H2O2, it is an ineffective whitening mouth rinse.
What chlorhexidine does to teeth
Rather than making your teeth whiter, rinsing with chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse will have other effects on them. This is due to the fact that it is not a whitening rinse because it is prescribed to treat other types of oral conditions that are not cosmetic in nature.
Key points:
- Rather than whitening teeth, it stains them instead.
- It’s primary purpose is antimicrobial meaning it’s used for infections.
- Has a tendency to increase tartar build up which exacerbates teeth staining.
Causes teeth staining
Instead of whitening your teeth, using chlorhexidine long term may stain your teeth to a brown color. Yes, chlorhexidine teeth staining is a well known side effect.
Don’t believe us? Just look at the precautions on the bottle’s label (provided below).
In other words, rather than a whitening mouthwash, chlorhexidine is a staining mouthwash.
Fortunately for you, the staining isn’t permanent because it can be removed. Good oral hygiene and regular dental cleanings will get rid of the tooth staining. Although you may need a longer hygiene appointment to remove it.
How it causes staining
- Chlorhexidine molecules are positively charged and they stick onto the enamel.
- Stain moelcules are negatively charged so they are attracted to it.
- Therefore, rinsing with this medicated solution will exacerbate staining of teeth.
What else it can stain:
- Dorsum of the tongue.
- Dental restorations.
Anti-bacterial rinse
Chlorhexidine is meant to be used as an antiseptic and disinfectant rinse. In other words, its purpose is to kill bacteria and reduce their population count in order to prevent infections.
Oral conditions it is used to treat:
- Gum disease (gingivitis & periodontitis).
- Periodontal abscess.
- Peri-implantitis.
- Endodontic-periodontal lesions.
- Dry socket.
Most commonly, your dentist will prescribe this for you after a deep teeth cleaning or if you’ve had some type of gum infection. On the other hand, if you come in for a whitening consultation, this prescription rinse wouldn’t even come up in the conversation.
Increases tartar build up
Another adverse effect of rinsing with chlorhexidine (CHX) is that it can increase the amount of calculus (tartar) build up on your teeth. The consequence of this is that it may contribute to additional teeth staining.
What studies show:
- Repeated exposure of biofilm to CHX resulted in more calcium deposit.
- Experimental groups experienced 5x as much calculus build up than control.
- Ultimately, the rinse
Tartar or calculus have a tendency to pick up extrinsic stains from all of the foods and drinks that you eat. Therefore, if you drink a lot of red wine, coffee, or tea it may exacerbate the staining. If you smoke, the calculus will also pick up the staining from the tar smoke.
Takeaway
Unfortunately rinsing your mouth with chlorhexidine will not whiten your teeth because it’s not a whitening mouthwash. It does not contain any peroxide so it lacks the ability to chemically bleach your dentition whiter.
What may happen instead is actually make your teeth less white since it has very potent enamel staining abilities. Yes, that is a well known adverse effect of this prescription oral rinse so if you were thinking of using it to make your teeth whiter, you may want to look elsewhere.
If you wanted an oral rinse that can whiten, it needs to contain hydrogen peroxide.