Clinical Evaluation of In-Office Whitening System

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a curing light on a chairside professional bleaching. Methods: A total of 52 teeth in 16 subjects were evaluated. Inclusion criteria included non-restored maxillary incisors with a baseline shade of B65 (Trubyte) or darker. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to two groups receiving chairside professional treatment (Sapphire Chairside System, 25% Hydrogen Peroxide). Subjects received two 30 minute applications of the bleaching agent following the manufacturer's instructions either with a curing light (Group 1) or without a curing light (Group 2). The following variables were evaluated at baseline, immediate post-treatment, and one week post-treatment: tooth shade, gingival index, plaque index, and tooth sensitivity. L*a*b* values were measured using a commercial dental colorimeter (ShadeVision, X-Rite) and delta E values were calculated. Data was analyzed using a two-sample independent t-test at a 95% confidence level. Results: There was no significant change in gingival index, plaque index, or sensitivity following treatment (p>0.05). The Sapphire in office bleaching kits produced shade changes of approximately 8 units without the Sapphire light and 12 units with the Sapphire light. The average delta E value was 4.62 for Group 1, and 3.42 for Group 2. Conclusions: In-office bleaching produced visual shade changes of 3 shades more when the curing light was used. No adverse effects on oral tissues were observed during this study. There were no complaints of sensitivity immediately following or one week after chairside treatments. Supported in part by a grant from DenMat Corp.