Procter & Gamble is lobbying regulators in Europe to loosen rules that prevent the company from its selling teeth-whitening products directly to consumers.
Some of the company's whitening strips and mouthwashes exceed European Union (EU) limits on bleach in dental goods sold over the counter, and P&G officials are asking the EU to ease the restrictions, according to a story in the Financial Times.
Under EU regulations, products in which the bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, content is between 0.1% and 6% can only be offered by dentists and cannot be sold in shops. Products with more than 6% bleach are banned.
P&G's Whitestrips -- clear plastic strips that consumers stick on to their teeth for 30 minutes a day then throw away -- contain between 6% and 10% bleach. Its 3DWhite mouthwash is 1.5% bleach.
Teeth-whitening products account for 5% to 6% of the $35 billion market in consumer dental products, according to P&G.
The EU's rules on teeth whitening took effect in October 2012.
