Effects of home bleaching preparations on composite resin color

The lightening of teeth is done professionally by exposure to warm hydrogen peroxide solutions or at home with an active bleaching gel of perhydrol urea or carbamide peroxide. This study compared the effects of two commercial bleaching gels on the color of composite resin with those in a previous study using the dental office technique. Commercial composite resins test specimens were exposed to the bleaching gels or water (control) for 312 hours at 37 degrees C at 100% relative humidity. Color change value was calculated with before-and-after solution exposure L*a*b* color values. ANOVA (alpha = 0.01) revealed no differences in the color of the specimens after use of the test solutions. All color change values were less than 2 or the normal limit of visual acuity. No visual color change was evident for these composite resins. The at-home method recorded no shade-altering effects compared with the professional technique, which created a noticeable color change.