The Role of Peroxide Based Bleaching Agents in the Induction of Tooth Sensitivity

Tooth whitening is increasingly requested lately due to increased aesthetic demands of patients. The aim of our study was to analyse if there are differences, in terms of tooth sensitivity, between at-home and in-office bleaching agents used in tooth whitening, and also, if a higher concentration of bleaching agents leads to increased the tooth sensitivity. We used four bleaching agents in our study, two at-home use (Opalescence PF-Ultradent, with 10% and 20% concentration), and two in-office use (Opalescence Boost 40%-Ultradent and Pola Office 35%-SDI). The studied patients (161) were divided into four groups, after the used bleaching agent. After the tooth whitening procedures, the patients were recalled twice a week for two weeks, so that we conducted four sessions of determining the tooth sensitivity. The results showed that the patients with higher tooth sensitivity were from those with at-home whitening procedures, with a lower concentration of the peroxide-based bleaching agents.