If Your Teeth Are Sensitive To Conventional Whitening Products, We Have a Bright Idea

We’re not all blessed with pearly whites, and we don’t blame you if you enlist outside resources to brighten your smile. But if you’ve ever tried at-home whitening strips or had a professional treatment done at the dentist’s office, you’re probably familiar with the not-so-fun downsides, like stinging gums, bothersome sensitivity to heat and cold, and perhaps an upset stomach from swallowing some of the bleaching agent. Or maybe even worse, you went through with the procedure and saw no changes in lifting yellowed discoloration. 

There are alternatives that offer more comprehensive and holistic solutions that not only whiten your teeth but can help boost your overall health. After trying (and failing) to find toothpaste and treatments that brighten and whiten teeth without causing sensitivity (particularly for patients recovering from dental procedures), cosmetic dentist Kourosh Maddahi, DDS, formulated his own line of products that takes a refreshing approach to dental hygiene and teeth whitening: Lumineux. 

We spoke to Dr. Maddahi about the pitfalls of conventional whitening products, incorporating better-for-you ingredients and ancient methods into his formulas, and why we need to rethink our oral health.

How do conventional teeth whitening treatments work? 

If you pick up almost any box of teeth whitening strips at your local drugstore and read the ingredients, you might recognize the words “hydrogen peroxide.” According to Dr. Maddahi, most whitening products use hydrogen peroxide to remove stains by etching them off the enamel of your teeth. While effective in removing discoloration, he says, this method can also lead to tooth sensitivity and gum irritation, which makes it unsuitable for daily use. The problem is, most people consume staining liquids every day. 

“Coffee, tea, darkly colored juices, blueberries — all these things stain your teeth,” he says. “If you can only use a whitening product every few months or every year, you won’t be able to maintain the white teeth you set out to achieve in the first place.”

So, does this mean you have to quit caffeine? No, thankfully.

Dr. Maddahi believes whitening products should suit consumers’ lifestyles. “I’ve spent over 30 years working with celebrities and professionals who need to have white teeth, and my patients weren’t being served by methods that weren’t sustainable on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Maddahi tells us. “I wanted a whitening product that could lift stains like hydrogen peroxide without the sensitivity of it, so I created one myself.”

How do Lumineux products whiten teeth differently?

Lumineux describes its ingredients as “purposeful and uncompromising,” because Dr. Maddahi spent years researching whitening methods and ingredients from around the world. Those methods include the ancient Indian practice of oil pulling, or swishing with oils to soothe and detoxify your mouth, an Ayurvedic approach to oral care that informs Lumineux’s list of naturally-whitening ingredients like coconut oil, lemon peel, sage oils, and Dead Sea salt.

“Oils break up stains, which makes them easy to wash away,” Dr. Maddahi says. “When combined with the gentle abrasion of Dead Sea salt, which is also rich in beneficial minerals like calcium, we see a marked reduction in surface staining.”

Can standard whitening products have effects other than sensitivity?

You’re probably familiar with the gut microbiome, the system of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that helps us digest food and plays an important role in our immune system and overall health. The past few years have seen the proliferation of countless products that aim to improve microbiome health, i.e. probiotic supplements, drinks, and skin care. 

What’s lagging, however, is attention to the oral microbiome. The conventional approach to dental hygiene for decades has been to kill all bacteria indiscriminately, as seen in the use of hydrogen peroxide, an antibacterial agent that operates in our mouths like an antibiotic does elsewhere in our bodies. That means the oral microbes that create heart-healthy nitric oxide and digestion-aiding enzymes, as well as the beneficial bacteria that keep bad bacteria in check, are potentially eliminated.

“The first and most important thing that Lumineux does not do is it does not kill bacteria,” Dr. Maddahi tells us. “That was by design.” Rather than targeting the bacteria themselves, Lumineux’s products are formulated with Dead Sea salt, which neutralizes the toxins excreted by the few bad bacteria in the mouth. 

“This creates a more balanced oral microbiome that can serve the body without the kind of disruption and destruction of antibacterial ingredients,” Dr. Maddahi says.

The end result? Products you can use to maintain your brightest smile every day without sensitivity and a more balanced mouth and body overall.

Our Favorite Lumineux Products