Dental Fluorosis Treatment Can Improve the Individuals' OHRQoL? Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial

This study aimed to evaluate the effect on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of two treatment protocols for dental fluorosis in individuals enrolled in a randomized clinical trial. Seventy volunteers, who lived in a fluorosis endemic area in Brazil, and had at least four maxillary anterior teeth showing fluorosis with a Thylstrup and Fejerskov index from 1 to 7, were randomized into two treatment groups (n= 35): GI- enamel microabrasion; or GII- microabrasion associated with at-home bleaching. Microabrasion was performed using 37% phosphoric acid and pumice, and at-home tooth bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide in a tray. Volunteers completed a questionnaire at baseline and 1-month post treatment to assess changes in OHRQoL, using the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP). Differences in overall impact scores between and within treatment groups were analyzed with Wilcoxon (within) and Mann-Whitney (between) tests. Changes in performance scores were analyzed using Wilcoxon tests (a< 0.05). One month after treatment, subjects reported improvement in OHRQoL. Both groups showed lower OIDP scores (p< 0.001), but there was no difference between them. Eating, cleaning teeth, smiling and emotional state performance scores were lower after treatment for the whole sample. In conclusion, the treatment with microabrasion improved the OHRQoL in this sample of individuals living in a fluorosis endemic area regardless of the addition of at-home bleaching.