Colorimetric evaluation of white spot lesions following external bleaching with fluoridation: An in-vitro study

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate the effects of external tooth bleaching with flouridation on the appearance of white spot lesions (WSLs) in vitro. METHODS: In total, 125 bracket-bonded bovine incisor enamel blocks with artificial WSLs were randomly divided into a control group and four treatment groups (home bleaching, home bleaching + fluoridation, in-office bleaching, and in-office bleaching + fluoridation). A spectroradiometer (SR) and digital images (DIs) were used to evaluate colorimetric parameters (Commission Internationale l'Eclairage L(*)a(*)b(*)) for all specimens. Color measurements were obtained before WSL formation (T1), after WSL formation (T2), and after completion of the external tooth bleaching treatment (T3). RESULTS: The SR-based color change after bleaching was significantly greater in the treatment groups than in the control group (p < 0.05). SR-based lightness (L(*)) and red-green (a(*)) values were significantly higher at T2 than at T1 (p < 0.001), with no significant changes in yellow-blue (b(*)) values. At T3, SR-based L(*) values had increased while a(*) and b(*) values had decreased in the treatment groups (p < 0.001). The DI-based color difference between the sound enamel and WSL areas (ΔE(*)DI) increased significantly from T1 to T2 in all groups (p < 0.001) and significantly decreased from T2 to T3 in the treatment groups (p < 0.001). No significant differences in ΔE(*)DI at T3 were shown between the four treatment groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggested that external tooth bleaching with fluoridation can alleviate the conspicuity of WSLs.