Degradation of Proteins Extracted from Teeth by Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract

The active ingredient in whitening strips and professionally done procedures is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which damages proteins. Teeth were either untreated or treated, either one or three rounds, with over‐the‐counter whitening strips in artificial saliva, and dialyzed against 10% EDTA pH 9.0 for two weeks. The dialysis fluid contained the non‐collagen protein from the enamel and dentin layers of the teeth. The amount of protein was measured using a Lowry assay and the individual proteins were separated using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS PAGE) and stained with silver. The amount of protein extracted decreased with H2O2 treatments. The molecular weights (MW) for the proteins on the gel were correlated with the predicted MW for proteins known to be in the tooth and the impact of H2O2 was assessed. In order to demonstrate the effect of H2O2, pure proteins were pre incubated with either it or water for an hour and trypsin was added. Samples were collected, run on SDS PAGE and the impact on MW was assessed. The results show a loss of protein with a decrease in size when the proteins were treated with H2O2. These results suggest that if the active ingredient in whitening treatments can penetrate the enamel, it can damage the non‐collagen proteins in the teeth. This work was supported by Research and Professional Development Grant from Stockton University.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.