Objective: to compare the clinical performance of four vital bleaching methods using a Vita Classical shade guide.
Methods: 90 subjects with anterior teeth with shade A2 or darker were selected after informed consent and IRB approval. Four bleaching techniques were used: (I) At-home bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide (Whiteness, FGM) for 2 weeks (HB); (II) in-office bleaching without light irradiation using 35% hydrogen peroxide (HPMAX, FGM), 2 sessions with a 2-week interval (OB); (III) in-office bleaching with light irradiation (Whitening Lase, DMC) (OBL); (IV) 1 session OBL followed by HB (OBL+HB). Subjects were assigned to three treatment groups in a split-mouth design: (1) HB vs. OBL; (2) OBL vs. OB; (3) HB vs. OBL+HB. Color change was registered by an observer (blind for the treatment group) at baseline, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks, using a Vita Classical shade guide (Vident). Statistics were computed using Student's t-test and Tukey-Kramer test at p<0.05.
Results: All bleaching techniques were effective for vital tooth bleaching. After one week, group IV (1 session OBL followed by HB) resulted in less color value than the other bleaching methods. After 2 weeks, all bleaching methods resulted in similar color change. There was no difference in color changes between bleaching methods after 4, 8 or 16 weeks.
Conclusion: One session of OBL followed by 2-week HB was the most efficient bleaching method at the 1-week evaluation. However, after 2 weeks all bleaching methods results in similar color changes.