In vitro penetration of the pulp chamber by three brands of carbamide peroxide

Abstract

Purpose: Vital tooth bleaching has become a popular procedure for whitening teeth. Most home bleaching products contain 10% carbamide peroxide. The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the quantity of hydrogen peroxide that reaches the pulp chamber from three carbamide peroxide products: Opalescence™, Sparkle™, and Rembrandt™. Materials and Methods: Seventy roots of extracted premolars were amputated approximately 3 mm apical to the cementoenamel junction, and the pulp tissues were removed. They were divided into three experimental groups (n = 20) and a control group of 10 teeth. An acetate buffer solution was placed in the pulp chamber before the crown was exposed to the bleaching agent at 37°C for 25 minutes. The buffer solution was removed and reacted with leukocrystal violet and horseradish peroxidase. The optical density of blue color that developed was measured at a wavelength of 596 nm and read from a standard curve for hydrogen peroxide quantity. Results: The measured amounts of hydrogen peroxide were 3.605 ± 1.405,1.282 ± 0.762, and 0.339 ± 0.251 pg for the Opalescence™, Sparkle™, and Rembrandt™ groups, respectively. A statistically significant difference in the hydrogen peroxide levels was observed by analysis of variance (p <.05) among the three groups. It was concluded that the penetration of commercial bleach ing products was different even though the products were labeled as having the same 10% carbamide peroxide. © 1999 Wiley. All rights reserved.