Clinical evaluation of different types of teeth in in-office whitening

Objective: This prospective case series aimed to clinically evaluate the bleaching effect, spontaneous tooth sensitivity, and variation in the thermal sensation threshold of different groups of teeth undergoing in-office bleaching. Method and materials: Ten patients received conventional bleaching treatment: 35% hydrogen peroxide with three bleaching sessions of 45 minutes, evaluating color change (AE and AE00), Whitening Index (WID), and tooth sensitivity (visual analog scale). Thermal stimulus-generating devices were used to simulate sensitivity caused by low temperatures through quantitative sensory tests. Analyses were conducted individually on different teeth groups (n=20) (mandibular incisors, maxillary incisors, canines, maxillary first premolars). Results: Regarding color change, mandibular and maxillary incisors did not statistically differ from each other but showed significant difference and greater bleaching potential compared to canines and maxillary first premolars (P=.018). Regarding sensi- tivity, mandibular and maxillary incisors presented the highest spontaneous sensitivity values (P=.032), while maxillary first pre- molars did not display painful symptoms, also observed in pro- voked sensitivity analysis (P=.025). Conclusions: The general analysis of the results indicates that the tooth type affects the response to the whitening treatment, both in relation to the es- thetic benefit and the occurrence of tooth sensitivity. It was ob- served that mandibular incisors reach the degree of chromatic saturation before canines and premolars, in addition to present- ing greater bleaching sensitivity. Personalizing the treatment, based on prior knowledge of the degree of saturation, anatomical factors, and the risk of sensitivity, can provide considerable ad- vantages in the whitening technique. (Quintessence Int 2024;55: 804-812; doi: 10.3290/j.qi.b5754879)