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A lot more people soon will be flashing pearly whites if dental industry predictions are correct.
Researchers have discovered that a product that has been used for more than 25 years as an oral antiseptic can drastically lighten the color of teeth. The treatment allows many people with teeth stained by medication, coffee, tobacco and aging to have "classic Hollywood smiles," said Van Haywood, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Dental School.
The procedure, which takes from two to six weeks, involves putting the solution into a mouthguard, which patients wear for the majority of the day.
Although the formula is an old one, combining the idea of bleaching teeth with the concept of a mouthguard makes it a potentially revolutionary procedure, said Haywood, who has studied the treatment during the last two years.
"Lots of folks are going to be interested in this," Haywood said. "It's kind of like the invention of the automobile for people who've been riding horses all their life."
Haywood said his team has nearly completed testing the medication and has found no negative effects...