Clinical evaluation of in-office and at-home bleaching treatments

This three-month, single-blind clinical study compared two whitening treatments, at-home with 10% carbamide peroxide and in-office with 35% hydrogen peroxide, for the degree of color change of teeth, color relapse and tooth and gum sensitivity. The degree of color change and color relapse was evaluated by using a colorimeter, shade guide and color slide photography. Teeth and gum sensitivity were self-evaluated by the subjects, who recorded daily the tooth and gum sensitivity they experienced during the two weeks of treatment and one week post-treatment. A 14-day at-home treatment was compared with 60 minutes of in-office treatment (two appointments, each with three 10-minute applications). The at-home treatment produced significantly lighter teeth than the in-office treatment during all active-treatment periods and follow-up visits according to all three-color evaluation methods. Color relapse for both treatments stabilized by six weeks. At-home treatment resulted in statistically significant higher gum sensitivity than in-office treatment during the latter part of the first week. For tooth sensitivity there were no significant differences between the treatments. Eighty four percent of the subjects reported at-home treatment to be more effective and 16% found no difference between the treatments. There were no subjects who reported the in-office treatment to be superior in tooth whitening to the at-home treatment.