Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
 | 
Online Publication Date: 10 Nov 2023

Effect of Tooth Bleach on Dentin Fatigue Resistance in Situ

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Page Range: 638 – 647
DOI: 10.2341/22-093-C
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SUMMARY

Background

Negative effects of bleaching on dentin have previously been reported in vitro.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of carbamide peroxide bleaching on dentin fatigue resistance using a clinically relevant in situ model.

Methods and Materials

Following research ethics board approval, 60 human teeth requiring extraction were collected. Sterilized human dentin specimens were cut (1.2x1.2x10 mm) and secured into customized bleaching trays to be used by study participants. Participants were randomly assigned to either bleach (10% carbamide peroxide, n=23) or control (gel without bleach, n=26) treatment groups. Treatment was applied to the bleaching trays and worn overnight by participants for 14 days. After treatment completion, dentin specimens were removed from the bleaching trays and subjected to fatigue testing (10 N, 3 mm/s, 2x105 cycles) while submerged in artificial saliva. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted to compare the number of cycles to failure during fatigue testing in both groups. A log rank test was run to determine if there were differences in the survival distribution between the two groups (α<0.05).

Results

The median number of cycles to failure was 352 ± 202 and 760 ± 644 for the bleach and control groups, respectively. The survival distributions for the two groups were significantly different (p=0.020). Dentin fatigue resistance was significantly lower in the bleach group compared to the control.

Conclusions

Direct bleaching of human dentin using an at-home tray bleaching protocol in situ reduced dentin fatigue resistance. This has implications for tooth fracture risk and longevity.

Copyright: 2023
Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Example of prepared dentin specimen with schematic drawing of tooth layers with shaded region demonstrating location of dentin specimen.


Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Bleaching tray with secured dentin specimen and example of bleaching tray in place.


Figure 3.
Figure 3.

Chewing simulator setup with expanded view (annotated and no artificial saliva for visualization).


Figure 4.
Figure 4.

Survival distribution of dentin specimens subjected to fatigue testing.


Contributor Notes

*Corresponding author: 154 Nora Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Z 7B3; e-mail: jfitzgerald@docsottawa.com
Accepted: 10 Jul 2023
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