Survey of Preference for At-home and In-office Tooth Whitening

“Objectives:” The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patient preferences and perceptions of at-home whitening (HW) versus in-office whitening (OW) treatment. “Methods:" After completion of a split mouth design whitening study of 20 subjects, an eight item self-report written questionnaire was given. Subjects in the study received treatment of ½ arch with home treatment (5 days with 10% carbamide peroxide gel in tray; NiteWhite Excel 3, Discus Dental, Culver City, CA) and ½ arch with in-office treatment (one session with 25% hydrogen peroxide activated by ZOOM light, Discus Dental, Culver City, CA). At the final color measurement visit, the survey was collected and compensation was given to the participant. Descriptive statistics are reported for most questions, but chi square tests (&alpha=0.05) was done for preference and recommendation. “Results:” 95 % of surveys were completed; responses are reported in percentage. 80% reported that the whitening (HW and OW) results met their expectations; 65% reported the in-office experience was as expected. Concerning duration, 30% reported that in-office treatment took more time than expected; 15% reported less time, and 55% reported it took the expected amount of time. While 70% reported that the in-office treatment was comfortable, significantly more subjects (74 %) preferred the at-home method over the in-office method (p=0.009). While 63% of subjects stated they would recommend the in-office procedure to a friend, a significantly greater percentage of the subjects (100%) would recommend the at-home method (p=0.012). “Conclusion:” Subjects experiencing both at-home and in-office treatment report overall satisfaction with both procedures in terms of comfort and whitening result; nonetheless, there is a statistically significant preference and recommendation for at-home over in-office whitening. The study was sponsored by Vita Zahnfabrik.