No, Kendall Jenner: charcoal dental products won’t whiten your teeth – and could even damage them

Activated charcoal dental products started to grow in popularity several years ago as part of the global multibillion-dollar teeth-whitening industry. From toothpaste and toothbrushes to tooth polishing powder and dental floss, most oral care products have been hit by the activated charcoal trend. Model and reality TV star Kendall Jenner is even promoting an activated charcoal whitening mouth rinse as part of her new partnership with the dental care brand Moon. But do these products really “detoxify” the mouth and whiten teeth as they claim, or are they merely a marketing ploy? Activated charcoal is different from charcoal such as that used for briquettes for barbecues. To make it, either wood, bamboo, peat, coconut shells, olive pits or sawdust are heated at a very high temperature. The extreme heat is believed to remove contaminants and help make the charcoal more absorbent. Activated charcoal is used to treat drug overdoses and poisonings; the substance prevents these toxins from being absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream. The material, however, will not detoxify the teeth and gums. “Charcoal oral care products are said to have anti-fungal and antibacterial properties, but there’s no proof of that,” says Dr Sherina Daryanani, a dentist and founder of Teeth @ Tiong Bahru, a dental clinic in Singapore. “In 2017, the American Dental Association reviewed over 100 studies that had been done on these products and found the anti-fungal and antibacterial claims to be unsubstantiated.” Many children use so much toothpaste it’s unhealthy, experts warn The review, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), found that charcoal and charcoal-based products may even do your teeth more harm than good, and concluded that there was not enough clinical data to back these products’ safety and efficacy claims. “Charcoal toothpastes don’t usually contain fluoride,” Daryanani says. “This is a big drawback, since fluoride is necessary to eliminate plaque and prevent tooth decay. “Second, products like charcoal powders tend to be quite abrasive to teeth enamel. And even if they remove stains, they may do so to the point of exposing the dentine, which is the dense, yellowish bony tissue beneath the enamel that makes up the bulk of our teeth. “So if you substitute a proper oral care routine for charcoal toothpaste or charcoal powder, you may actually be increasing your risk of tooth decay and ruining the surface of your teeth.” Daryanani believes that some of these products may be effective on stains, but is quick to point out that stain removal is not the same as whitening. “Teeth whitening is most effective when done by a dentist, using the right products. Plus, if you go overboard with the charcoal powder your teeth may end up looking even more yellow if the dentine becomes exposed.” In a review published in 2019 in the British Dental Journal (BDJ), experts said that nearly all of the 50-plus charcoal-based pastes and powders tested were found to contain an insufficient amount of free-radical bleaching agent for them to have any whitening or stain-removal effect. They added that charcoal-based toothpastes that promise to whiten teeth are a “marketing gimmick”. [Minimising stains] involves twice-daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste, seeing your dentist regularly, and avoiding heavily pigmented foods and anything with artificial colours Dr Sherina Daryanani Moreover, the researchers found that charcoal can “deactivate” fluoride, so even if the charcoal product you use contains fluoride, it may not be effective in fighting tooth decay. There may be other negative aspects to using these charcoal dental products. The BDJ review highlighted the potential presence of carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbon in charcoal-based toothpastes. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons are a group of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil and petrol. The JADA study also found that, of the charcoal toothpastes reviewed, one-third contained bentonite clay, a mineral that may contain crystalline silica, another recognised carcinogen. The ancient Greeks may have used charcoal to fight bad breath and gum disease, but Daryanani says that if you want to keep your teeth and gums in good condition and minimise stains, it is best to stick to a proper oral care routine. “This involves twice-daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste, seeing your dentist regularly, and avoiding heavily pigmented foods and anything with artificial colours.”