Managing Vital and Nonvital Tooth Bleaching Among Endodontists and General Dental Practitioners: A Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Study.

Abstract

Tooth bleaching has become increasingly popular in recent times. It is the preferred conservative approach for lightening discolored teeth. The primary objective of tooth bleaching is to whiten teeth using oxidizing chemicals that work on both enamel and dentin. The noninvasive nature of modern bleaching systems allow for effective treatment options that meet the high expectations of patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of dental practitioners in South India for managing discolored upper front teeth. We created and distributed a structured, validated questionnaire about bleaching discolored anterior teeth to South Indian dental practitioners and analyzed the data. We found a statistically significant relationship between endodontists and general dentists in their preferences for isolation techniques, choice of materials for vital bleaching, management of intact nonvital teeth, and management of postbleaching sensitivity. Women exhibit a greater preference for teeth-whitening procedures than men, with 74% opting for whitening treatments. The predominant method for addressing tooth discoloration is bleaching, which makes up approximately 63.8% of the whitening procedures. In-office bleaching is the preferred method for both vital and nonvital bleaching procedures, demonstrating its widespread acceptance and preference among practitioners.