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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Eur J Dent 2021; 15(01): 127-132
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1716317
Original Article

Bleaching Stained Arrested Caries Lesions: In vivo Clinical Study

Sarah S. Al-Angari
1   Department of Restorative Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Mashael AlHadlaq
2   Pediatric Dentistry Department, National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Noor Abahussain
3   Pediatric Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Njood AlAzzam
4   Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract

Objective Conservative approaches to esthetically treat stained arrested caries lesions (s-ACLs) have not been explored in clinical studies. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of in-office dental bleaching agent, as a conservative approach, to esthetically treat s-ACLs.

Materials and Methods Twelve patients (n = 46) presented with s-ACLs were treated with 40% hydrogen peroxide (in-office bleaching protocol; 20 minutes × 3). Color values were measured using a spectrophotometer (CIE L*a*b*), aided with digital photography to assess visual color change clinically. Measurements were taken for each specimen at baseline and immediately after bleaching.

Statistical Analysis The color change calculated before and after bleaching for each dental substrate was analyzed using paired t-test (α = 0.05).

Results The bleached s-ACLs had a significant increase in L* values (p < 0.001), and a significant decrease in both a* (p = 0.001) and b* (p = 0.007) values, indicating lighter color improvement (bleaching efficacy). The baseline mean of L*, a*, and b* values were 61.5, 2, and 15.4, respectively, and after bleaching were 67.7, 1.4, and 13.3, respectively, with a mean increase in ∆E of >7.9, which resulted in a visible clinical stain improvement as orange/light brown stains were removed completely, while gray/black stains improved to a lesser extent.

Conclusion Significant color improvement was observed when the in-office bleaching protocol (40% hydrogen peroxide) was used in orange/brown s-ACLs. However, it showed lesser improvement in gray/black s-ACLs.

Keywords

arrested caries lesions - bleaching - color change - esthetics - hydrogen peroxide


Publication History

Article published online:
08 September 2020

© 2020. European Journal of Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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