African Journal of Dentistry

ISSN 2756-3421

African Journal of Dentistry ISSN 3216-0216 Vol. 7 (5), pp. 001-007, May, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

In-office dental bleaching efficacy assessment in function of the light exposure regime by digital colorimetric reflectance spectroscopy

Florez F. L. E1*, Andrade M. F.1, Campos E. A. 1, Oliveira Júnior O. B.1, Bagnato V. S.2 and Panhoca V. H.2,

1Department of Restorative Dentistry, São Paulo State University, Araraquara, Brazil.

2São Carlos Physics Institute, University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Accepted 03 March, 2019

Abstract

In-office dental bleaching has been subject of several studies. Generally those studies quantify through visual analysis, the shade reduction of the teeth submitted to different bleaching protocols (light sources, bleaching agent concentrations and irradiation time). The objective of this work is the determination of the influence of four irradiation protocols on the obtainment of better aesthetic results using a colorimetric spectrophotometer that quantifies color changes in each situation imposed. Forty bovine incisors were selected in function of similar anatomic characteristics; a concentrated coffee solution was used to stain the teeth. A commercial spectrophotometer was used to measure the color changes during evolution of the experiment (stain and bleaching phases) and the obtained data was analyzed by the ANOVA test. The obtained data showed the evolution of teeth color during the staining period, as well as, the color reduction that each bleaching protocol achieved. Based on our findings it is possible to conclude that bleaching protocols with larger irradiation periods did not showed significant differences when compared with shorter irradiation protocols, in that way the use of protocols with 30 min or more of consecutive irradiation are not clinically justified and also can cause several side effects.

Key words: Dental bleaching, light emitting diodes (LEDs), spectrophotometer, objective measurements.