Illegal and potentially harmful tooth-whitening products are still being sold online despite websites agreeing to remove them from sale more than a fortnight ago following warnings from Which?
Amazon and eBay agreed to remove the products, which experts say can burn the gums and leave brown stains on the teeth, after reviewing evidence from the consumer organisation.
But the websites were today still advertising harmful products, with some comprising as much as 44% carbamide peroxide – equivalent to roughly 150 times the legal limit of hydrogen peroxide, to which it breaks down.
Amazon was today offering the "LAwhite teeth whitening pen" for £9.95, with 35% carbamide peroxide. Similarly, eBay was listing a teeth-whitening kit from a Spanish-based seller offering three 10ml syringes of carbamide peroxide – one with a 22% concentration of the bleaching agent, the second 35% and the third 44% – for US$18.69 (£12). The latter promises "the secret to a healthy and happy smile", but no mention is made of the fact that the products could aggravate dental conditions such as gum disease.
Stuart Johnston from the British Dental Association said: "High doses of hydrogen peroxide can burn the lining of the mouth if it's not protected."
Further research from Which? found that one in 10 people buying tooth whitening products ended up with white spots on their gums or lips, indicating chemical burns, and a similar number reporting brown stains on their teeth, suggesting the enamel had been damaged by the product. The consumer watchdog said that there had been a failure in policing by trading standards.
A spokesman for the Trading Standards Institute said: "Consumer protection and product enforcement remains a high priority for us, but as the internet grows with some 160,000 e-retailers out there, our resources aren't growing in line with it. Our challenge is to ensure that priorities are matched to areas of consumer detriment such as dangerous products like these.'
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: "These products are illegal, but ineffective policing means they are still widely available. We have shared our findings with Trading Standards and will continue to urge online retailers to boycott such harmful products being sold in their marketplaces."
