Evaluation of the mineral-promoting effects of in-office bleaching on experimental subsurface enamel lesions

The aim of this study was to investigate the mineral-promoting effects of in-office bleaching agent on enamel subsurface lesions. Enamel subsurface lesions were divided into following groups; D: demineralized samples without any further treatment, DS: samples were further immersed in fresh saliva, DSR: samples were immersed in saliva followed by remineralization buffer, and DSBR: samples were immersed in saliva, subjected to in-office bleaching, and then immersed in remineralization buffer. The control group (CONT) consisted of untreated enamel specimens. Transverse microradiography showed that integrated mineral loss was significantly lower in the DSBR group than in the DSR group. Confocal laser Raman analysis revealed that ν1 phosphate peak height of 959 cm−1 and mineral to matrix ratio of peak heights 959 cm−1 to 1,610 cm−1 in the DSBR group were similar to those in the CONT. In-office bleaching can promote enamel remineralization by altering or removing proteins infiltrated to enamel subsurface lesions.