Can Enhanced Peroxides Decrease the Side Effects of Tooth Bleaching? A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Adverse effects of tooth bleaching on dental structures remain a topic of discussion in the literature, and the search for protocols that reduce such reported adverse effects is ongoing. The goal of this systematic literature review was to determine whether the use of tooth bleaching gels with added minerals, such as fluoride, calcium, hydroxyapatite, potassium nitrate, amorphous calcium phosphate, and casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate, reduced the occurrence of the main adverse effects of tooth bleaching. The electronic database search identified 16 studies that evaluated the effects of bleaching gels with added minerals on enamel hardness and/or roughness, mineral loss, post-treatment sensitivity, morphological changes, and/or cohesive enamel strength. The findings of this review suggest that the addition of minerals to bleaching gels can contribute to the reduction of most adverse effects, mainly sensitivity, without affecting treatment efficiency.