Comparison of two over-the-counter tooth whitening products using a novel system

Tooth whitening is one of the most widely accepted esthetic procedures in dentistry. Various treatment options include in-office and prescribed at-home bleaching procedures, over-the-counter bleaching kits, and whitening dentifrices. This study evaluated and compared a 6% hydrogen peroxide tooth bleaching gel delivered on polyethylene film (HP) with an 18% carbamide peroxide brush-applied liquid gel (CP). A total of 59 subjects completed this 2-week, examiner blind, randomized, parallel group study. Both treatments were applied twice daily for 2 weeks according to the manufacturer's instructions. Evaluations for oral safety and Vita tooth shade were conducted by a dental examiner at baseline and 2 weeks after product use. In addition, the ShadeVision System was used to determine changes in Vita shade and L*a*b* values. Based on both the examiner and ShadeVision System assessments, both treatments significantly improved tooth shade. Improvements in Vita tooth shade based on the adjusted mean for HP were 2.64 (P < 0.001) and 2.33 (P < 0.001) for the examiner and ShadeVision System assessments, respectively, compared with improvements of 1.04 (P = .004) and 0.42 (P = 0.029) for CP users, respectively. The difference between treatments was found to be significant for both the examiner (P = .005) and ShadeVision (P = .001) assessments. Findings from the L*a*b* data derived from the ShadeVision System were in agreement with Vita assessments, with significant differences for changes in L*, a*, and b* in favor of HP users (P = .001). In this study, the ShadeVision method of color analysis was relatively easy to use and demonstrated significant differences between 2 OTC whitening products using both Vitapan and L*a*b* means of assessment.