Effect of innovative double layer treatment on tooth color change and nitrate penetration

For dentists, tooth whitening is a great aid for reaching patient expectations of a flawless smile. However, a major drawback of tooth whitening is tooth sensitivity. Potassium nitrate has been recommended to lessen tooth sensitivity in which it is applied in a tray prior to the tooth whitening treatment. This technique is time consuming and inconvenient, so companies incorporated potassium nitrate into the tooth whitening gel to make it a more time efficient technique. Due to the similar penetration rate of both potassium nitrate and tooth whitening gel and the lower molecular weight of tooth whitening gel, there is the assumption of the tooth whitening gel penetrating first through the tooth and onto the pulp in which it will leave it in an excitation state, by the time potassium nitrate reaches the pulp it will be too late to have the desired effect.

So the purpose of this study is to innovate a one step technique that is less time consuming and will allow for potassium nitrate to penetrate first followed by hydrogen peroxide to interact with the stain molecules. An in vitro study to assess the effectiveness of 25% hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening agent, in terms of tooth color change when preceded by different amounts of potassium nitrate gel as a desensitizing agent was conducted. This technique is Time efficient technique, convenient technique for both the patient and the clinician, and it will pave the road for future approaches to manage tooth sensitivity.