Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Dental Sensitivity and Color Change in Patients Undergoing Dental Bleaching with Application of Violet Light

Vitor Hugo Panhóca*, Marcelo Saito Nogueira, Fátima Antonia Aparecida Zanin, Ana Paula Brugnera, Aldo Brugnera Jr and Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato

Objectives: Evaluate the effects of Violet Light Illumination (VLI) alone or combined with 10% carbamide peroxide and 35% hydrogen peroxide gels on Dental Sensitivity (DS) and tooth-color difference.

Materials and methods: 15 patients were divided into V group (n=5; dental bleaching using only VLI), VCP group (n=5; VLI and 10% carbamide peroxide gel) and VHP group (n=5; dental bleaching using VLI and 35% hydrogen peroxide gel). Tooth color was assessed by using ΔE and Δblue of a calibrated colorimeter. Colorimetric measurements and DS scores were recorded before the initial session (T0), after 1^st session (T1) and after 2^nd session (T2). At each session, DS scores were taken in a visual scale from 0 to 10 and their sum for all teeth evaluated in a given patient was used as that patient’s DS score. Kruskal-Wallis and two-way ANOVA tests were used to compare ΔE between groups. Intrapulpal heating of experimental conditions was assessed in vitro.

Results: We observed 100% DS reduction for the VCP and VHP groups, whereas the V group exhibited a reduction of >95.6% after T1 and >96.7% after T2. Intrapulpal heating of 2˚C for VLI conditions of this study. ΔE was higher for the V group, which indicates this group had a more pronounced whitening effect, followed by the VCP and then by the VHP groups. ΔE and Δblue exhibited the same trend as the blue readings for each group. No statistically significant differences were found for ΔE between groups.

Conclusion: Application of VLI with or without peroxide gels had a positive effect in obtaining improved in-office dental bleaching. Violet light promoted “desensitization” by decreasing DS over dental bleaching sessions.

Clinical relevance: The effect of light application alone has been scarcely investigated in dental bleaching. Our study provides a detailed evaluation of DS and tooth-color difference as well as possible sources of observed effects according to intrapulpal temperatures and light propagation in tooth tissue.

Published Date: 2022-06-17; Received Date: 2022-05-18