Carbamide peroxide is the main ingredient in most standard teeth-whitening products. It breaks down into hydrogen peroxide to bleach the color of your teeth through chemical reaction. The ADA considers this a safe way to brighten teeth, but let’s stop to think about it: we are bleaching our teeth and exposing them to the same type of chemicals we’d use to clean a dirty bathtub. That shouldn’t be the standard for how to whiten teeth!