Effect of Home Bleaching on the Color Improvement of Teeth with White Spot Lesions after Orthodontic Treatment

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of home bleaching on the color enhancement of white spot lesions (WSLs) after orthodontic treatment. Materials & Methods: This interventional semi-experimental study was conducted on 10 patients with inactive WSLs after orthodontic treatment who referred to Mashhad Dental School between May 2016 and May 2017. The tooth color was measured by a spectrophotometer at baseline and the color determination was performed in the area of ​​healthy enamel (F1) and the adjacent demineralized enamel (F2). Afterward, the teeth underwent home bleaching for 2 weeks. The color measurements were performed one day and one week after the treatment under the same condition. The color change of the healthy and demineralized groups at each time point was compared to each other; moreover, the color differences between healthy and demineralized areas were compared at the three different time points. The collected data were analyzed using an independent samples t-test and repeated measures ANOVA. Furthermore, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The degree of color change before the treatment and one day after the treatment was greater in healthy enamel (9.28±3.29), compared to demineralized enamel (6.98±2.92). However, the results of the independent samples t-test revealed no significant difference between healthy and demineralized enamel regarding the color change at various time points (p >0.05). There was no significant difference between the color change of healthy (F1) and demineralized (F2) enamels at the three evaluated time points (p >0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, under the conditions of this study, home bleaching was not an effective method for the color improvement of enamel WSLs after orthodontic treatment.

Keywords

• bleaching
• home bleaching
• tooth color
• white spot lesion