Effect of Calcium Hydroxide and Antioxidant Agents Filling the Pulp Chamber after Internal Bleaching

To evaluate the effect of calcium hydroxide (CH), sodium ascorbate (SA) and sodium thiosulfate (ST) filling the pulp chamber on color stability and longevity of teeth after internal bleaching. Crowns of bovine incisors were submitted to internal bleaching and divided into groups according the material used in the pulp chamber: Control, CH, SA, ST. Each group was divided into two subgroups according to the time to perform restorative procedures (7 or 15 days). Color measurement was performed with a spectrophotometer at nine periods. The darkening (ΔE) values were calculated. The Mann-Whitney test was used to statistically analyze the data (p ⟨ 0.05). After bleaching, ΔE values were higher than 3.5, showing that the procedure was effective. After 24 hours, no difference was observed between groups. After 7 days, SA showed higher ΔE than the control group (p ⟨ 0.05). CH and TS did not differ from the control group. In restorations performed after 7/15 days, SA group showed higher values of darkening after 1 and 4 months than the control group (p ⟨ 0.05). SA induced perceptible darkening after bleaching and should not be used to fill the pulp chamber. ST and CH show color stability and longevity after 12 months.