July JADA finds bleaching may maintain color of treated white-spot lesions
Other articles discuss AI, anesthesia
Both in-office and home tooth bleaching may maintain the color of treated white-spot lesions over time, according to a study published in the July issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.
The study investigated the color stability of resin-infiltrated white-spot lesions after in-office or home tooth bleaching and assessed the potential for staining and rebleaching. It found no significant differences in bleaching effectiveness and staining potential between the in-office and home tooth-bleaching methods.
As part of the study, the authors demineralized 60 caries-free third-molars to create the lesions and then divided them into a control group and three test groups. The test groups underwent resin infiltration, and one of the groups was treated with in-office tooth bleaching and another was treated with home tooth bleaching.
The authors exposed all the teeth to thermocycling to simulate aging and a coffee solution to create stains. The bleached teeth were then bleached again using their respective methods, while the control group and the group that only underwent resin infiltration also received in-office bleaching. The authors obtained color measurements at 10 defined time points throughout the experiment.
“Both [in-office tooth bleaching] and [home tooth bleaching] restored the color of resin-infiltrated [white-spot lesions] to near-baseline levels after staining in vitro, with no significant differences between the [two] methods,” the authors said in the study. “Although results of the treatments showed responsiveness to whitening protocols, color stability under staining conditions remained limited, highlighting the need for further investigation into long-term maintenance strategies.”
Other articles in the July issue of JADA discuss profound local anesthesia, diagnostics using artificial intelligence and changes in proximal caries during orthodontic treatment.
Every month, JADA articles are published online at JADA.ADA.org. ADA members can access JADA content with their ADA username and password.
