A prototype tooth whitening powder activated by the vibrations from an electric toothbrush that whitens and protects teeth has been developed by researchers from the Laboratory of Dental Biomaterials and Tissue Regeneration, Shanghai Xuhui District Stomatological Hospital, Shanghai, in China.

Although chemical whiteners, like bleaching strips, gels and mouth rinses, can effectively whiten teeth thanks to producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) that break apart stain-causing molecules, they can also reportedly damage tooth enamel in the process.

Source: ACS Nano (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c16997

As such, the researchers are developing a tooth-whitening compound that produces ROS when activated by electric toothbrush vibrations while simultaneously strengthening and repairing teeth.

To develop the new whitener, the team combined strontium and calcium ions with barium titanate in a solution and then heated and shaped it into a ceramic powder, called BSCT. When the powder is vibrated, it produces a small electric field — a phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect — that causes ROS-producing chemical reactions.

In the lab, the team brushed human teeth artificially stained with tea and coffee with BSCT on an electric toothbrush for four hours, which resulted in visible whitening. Meanwhile, after 12 hours of brushing, teeth treated with the powder and electric toothbrush were almost 50% whiter than teeth brushed with just saline. For teeth with damaged enamel and dentin that were brushed with the BSCT solution reportedly regenerated these structural components thanks to the strontium, calcium and barium ions present in the powder, which formed deposits on the surface of these teeth.

The team then tested the powder solution on rats fed high-sugar diets. After daily brushing for one minute over four weeks using the BSCT powder, the team found that the solution helped to restore the rats' oral microbiome, killing periodontitis-causing Porphyromonas gingivalis and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria as well as reducing inflammation.

An article detailing the powder, “Sr-, Ca-Doped BaTiO₃with Synergistic Piezoelectric Catalysis and Microbial Balance Effects Enables Tooth Whitening for Home Oral Health,” appears in the journal ACS Nano.