Effects of diode laser bleaching and conventional LED bleaching on pulpal temperature using pulp microcirculation...

Area of Science:

• Dental materials science
• Biomedical engineering
• Photochemistry

Background:

• Tooth bleaching relies on thermocatalytic activation of bleaching agents.
• Elevated intrapulpal temperatures exceeding 5.5°C risk irreversible pulp damage.
• Light-activated bleaching methods raise concerns regarding heat generation and potential pulp necrosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare pulpal temperature changes induced by diode laser versus LED light-activated bleaching.
• To evaluate the safety of these light-activated bleaching techniques concerning pulp vitality.

Main Methods:

• Human teeth were divided into diode laser and LED groups.
• A standardized bleaching agent (Pola office) was applied, and light sources were positioned 5 mm away.
• Temperature changes were measured using a pulp microcirculation model over three 30-second activation cycles with cooling intervals.

Main Results:

• LED-activated bleaching resulted in a mean pulpal temperature increase of 3.73 ± 1.07°C.
• Diode laser activation showed a significantly lower mean temperature increase of 1.285 ± 0.357°C.
• Both methods' temperature increases were below the 5.5°C threshold for pulp damage.

Conclusions:

• LED light-activated bleaching causes a greater pulpal temperature rise than diode laser activation.
• Neither method demonstrated a deleterious effect on pulp vitality within the study parameters.
• Further research may explore optimized parameters for light-activated bleaching to minimize thermal effects.