Efficacy of a Novel, Non-tray, Paint-on Whitening Gel

Objective: Recent advances in cosmetic dentistry have led to the development of a variety of new products and techniques for consumer use at home. Therefore, this in vitro superiority study was conducted to evaluate the intrinsic tooth-stain reducing efficacy of a paint-on tooth whitening gel (“Easy White”) as test product in comparison to another commercially available whitening gel (Colgate Simply White) as positive control and to a placebo (negative control). Methods: 45 extracted human maxillary anterior teeth were randomly separated into three groups of 15, each: placebo gel (A), test gel (B), and positive control gel (C). After scaling and polishing all teeth, the whitening gel product specific to the group A, B, or C was applied to each tooth in that group twice daily (morning and evening, with a period of 8 hours between the two applications) for 2 weeks according to the manufacturers' instructions. At the end of the 30-minute bleaching procedure the teeth were rinsed with water and then placed in fresh artificial saliva at a temperature of 37°C. Tooth colour was measured using digital imaging analysis (the standard L*a*b*measurement scale) and spectrograph measurements (X-Rite Shade Vision System). These measurements were performed on all 45 teeth before starting the bleaching procedure (baseline) and again at the end of the 2-week bleaching period. The data were analyzed by parametric and non-parametric tests using SPSS. Results: At the end of the 2-week bleaching process the teeth of the two whitening groups (B, C) showed a statistically significant color and shade improvement compared to the teeth of the placebo group (A). There were no statistically significant differences in colour and shade improvement between the test product (B) and the positive control product (C). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the test gel is as effective as the positive control gel.