An In Vitro Evaluation of Human Enamel Surfaces Subjected to Erosive Challenge After Bleaching

ABSTRACT Objectives This study aimed to evaluate whether tooth enamel bleached with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is more susceptible to erosion when compared with unbleached tooth enamel; and whether the presence of calcium (Ca) in the bleaching gel influenced this process. Materials and Methods Enamel blocks were prepared from human molars, and submitted to surface microhardness analysis (baseline). Blocks were prepared and randomly divided into four treatment groups (n = 20): G1 and G2—bleached with 7.5% H2O2, with and without Ca, respectively; G3 and G4—bleached with 35% H2O2, with and without Ca, respectively. After bleaching, these groups were submitted to an erosive challenge with 1% citric acid. G5 and G6 (n = 20, each) were the negative (without bleaching) and positive controls (without bleaching, but with erosion), respectively. The percentage of surface hardness loss (%SHL), the 3D non‐contact profilometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed. Results G2 showed the highest %SHL after bleaching. G1 presented the lowest %SHL in comparison with G2, G3, G4, and G6 after erosion (p