Effect of Over-the-Counter Whitening Products on Enamel Color Change and Surface Roughness - A laboratory Study

Abstract

: Objective: To evaluate the effect of various over-the-counter whitening products on enamel color change and surface roughness. Materials and Methods: Ninety bovine teeth were collected and sectioned at the cementoenamel junction. Fifty teeth were selected and stained for color change test. They were randomly divided into five groups according to the whitening product applied (n= 10). Color measurements were carried out with a spectrophotometer. The remaining Forty teeth were used for surface roughness test, where they were randomly divided into four groups n=10. Surface roughness was evaluated with optical profilometer. Results: The color change (Δ 𝐸 ) was significantly greater in the group that was treated with whitening strips (p=0.05) only. No statistical difference was found when other tested groups were compared with each other. The surface roughness was significantly higher in all groups in comparison to the initial one. No significant differences were found among over-the-counter (OTC) products with respect to surface roughness (P=0.248). Conclusions: All OTC whitening products didn’t give the predicted effect on color change except with whitening strips. Meanwhile, they had a great effect on enamel surface roughness.