Carbamide peroxide

Carbamide peroxide, also called urea peroxide, is an oxidising agent, consisting of hydrogen peroxidecompounded with urea. The molecular formulais CH₆N₂O₃, or CH₄N₂O.H₂O. It is white crystalline material that releases oxygen in contact with water.

This chemical is commonly encountered in cosmetic dentistry, where it is used to "bleach" teeth. The active ingredient is hydrogen peroxide, which acts to oxidise interprismatic extrinsic staining within tooth enamel. There are several methods of applying the peroxide gel to the tooth ranging from night-guard application at home or in-surgery application. The bleaching obtained is proportional to the length of time the peroxide is applied to the tooth, and the concentration used.

The chemical is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. It is also corrosive and causes burns. It doesn't hurt at 10% concentration (3% peroxide equivalent) but it does hurt at 35% equivalent, causing white chemical burnson skin and gums alike.

A 6.5% concentration solution is used to loosen and remove ear wax.

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbamide+peroxide Wikipedia article Carbamide peroxide.