ATLANTA — It's not the Tide Pod Challenge, but the latest social media trend has many scratching their heads.
Dozens of people are taking videos of themselves using Mr. Clean magic erasers on their teeth to whiten them.
Yes, the potent chemical cleaner that prides itself in removing the most stuck on stains on any surface.
From the amount of people who have tried this, it's clear we need to VERIFY the danger of it.
THE QUESTION
Is it safe to put a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on your teeth?
THE SOURCES
Medical Expert Dr. Sujatha Reddy
Accredited Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Charlie Cooper
THE ANSWER
No, because of the chemicals in the magic eraser, it is NOT safe to put on your skin and especially not in your mouth.
WHAT WE KNOW
Our VERIFY team tracked the trend to the original TikTok poster - "TheHeatherDunn".
"This is a magic eraser. Yeah, that's what I said. I take a little piece of it, wet it, don't touch your gums," Dunn said in her video.
Since her video was published, dozens of others on TikTok have taken her advice and put the household cleaning chemical on their teeth.
"I don't think it's a good idea to put any cleaning chemical in your mouth. I think that there are chemicals that can be harmful," Dr. Reddy said.
So, what chemicals are in the magic eraser?
It turns out the chemicals are not listed on the Mr. Clean box, or on the companies website.
Our VERIFY team did trace the CAV number to the patent on the government's website that listed the chemical components of the sponge.
According to the patent, it contains Melamine, Sulfurous Acid, Formaldehyde, and Sodium.
Doctor Charlie Cooper says the biggest concerns is over two of the chemicals in the sponge - Formaldehyde and Sulfurous Acid.
Formaldehyde is commonly used as a preservative in the human embalming process, used by funeral homes.
"It changes the molecular level and it basically has a negative effect on the bacteria, as crazy as it sounds, eats the flesh," Dr. Cooper explained.
"We know Formaldehyde is a very potent chemical and it is not safe to ingest or put in your mouth," Dr. Reddy said.
The second concerning chemical is the Sulfurous Acid and the impacts on your enamel.
"Acid has a negative effect on the enamel portion of the tooth. When it's gone, it's gone. It sets up the teeth being a little more susceptible to attack from bacteria which then leads to decay as well as creating sensitivity," Dr. Cooper said.
Proctor and Gamble warn on the box, "Do not use on skin or other parts of the body."
"If you ingest enough chemicals, they can harm your internal organs. We don't know if any of these things can cause cancer. So I think any strong chemical, I would probably keep it out of your body," Dr. Reddy said.
The American Dental Association says there are plenty of ways to whiten your teeth, "without resorting to dangerous, unscientific trends."
So, we can VERIFY, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser may temporarily whiten your teeth. But it's likely to cause long term damage and possible health complications from ingesting the dangerous chemicals.
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