Visual and instrumental assessment of the efficacy of an “in office” whitening system

Aim. Teeth whitening is gaining popularity. Aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy an “in office” whitening system (“Bio White”) visually and by means of 2 clinical spectrophotometers. Methods. 10 patients whishing for a whitening treatment were selected for the study. The central upper incisor shade was assessed visually with Vitapan Classical Shade Guide. Tooth shade was instrumentally assessed with Spectroshade-MHT (SS) and Easyshade-Vita (ES) clinical specrophotometers. The whitening treatments were carried on following the manufacturer indications. After polishing with a proprietary powder and application of liquid dam, three steps are performed consisting the first in treatment with desensitizing powder and whitening material, and the following of a combination of whitening powder and gel. After each step, the proprietary LED lamp system is used to activate the material for 12 minutes. After treatment, the teeth were measured again visually and instrumentally. Results. The differences visually detected ranged between 3 and 9 of Vitapan Shade guide, with a mean of 5,2. SS measurements ranged between 3 and 7 with a mean of 4,4. ES measurements ranged between 0 and 4 with a mean of 1,4. Differences were detected between visual and instrumental assessment, as well as between the two clinical spectrophotometers, probably due to their different viewing geometry. Conclusions. Preliminary data indicates that the whitening treatment is efficient.