A study in vitro to compare home and surgery vital bleaching techniques

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Dental Materials

Background:

• Tooth discoloration is a common aesthetic concern.
• Various professional and at-home bleaching techniques are available to dentists and patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of three common dental bleaching techniques: home tray bleaching, in-surgery tray bleaching, and in-surgery power bleaching.
• To evaluate the additional benefit of light activation in power bleaching procedures.
• To assess the effectiveness of different bleaching systems using objective and subjective colorimetric measurements.

Main Methods:

• An in-vitro study design was employed using 50 extracted human teeth.
• Teeth were randomly assigned to five groups: placebo (water), home tray bleaching, in-surgery tray bleaching, in-surgery power bleaching with light, and in-surgery power bleaching without light.
• Color change was measured using the Vita shade guide and an electronic chromometer before and after treatment.

Main Results:

• All tested bleaching systems demonstrated a significant change in tooth color compared to the placebo group.
• The in-surgery tray bleaching system showed the largest color change on the Vita shade guide (10.9-13.2 units).
• The night guard vital bleaching product resulted in the greatest color change according to chromometer readings (3.6-25.6 units).

Conclusions:

• In-vitro results indicate that all evaluated dental bleaching systems produce comparable tooth color changes.
• The additional benefit of light activation in power bleaching requires further investigation.
• Clinicians can achieve similar whitening outcomes with various commonly used bleaching techniques.