Effect of photo-thermal acceleration on in-office bleaching

The purpose is to evaluate the effect of photo-thermal acceleration on in-office bleaching efficiency using a bleaching agent without photocatalysts in vitro. Artificially discolored bovine lower incisors were prepared, and the mixed in-office bleaching material contained hydrogen peroxide 23% was applied by following treatment for 10 min: high-(HI group) and low-intensity LED lights (LI group), oven at 38 °C (OV group), and room temperature at 23 °C (RT group). Color was measured before and after bleaching and color difference (∆E*) was calculated. The data were statistically analyzed using a two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. The temperature change (∆T) of applied bleaching agent in HI and LI groups was measured using a thermography and was analyzed using a T test. The bleaching procedures were repeated 6 times. Irradiation in the HI group resulted in the highest ΔE, followed by the LI group whose ΔE was significantly lower. Both irradiated modes exhibited higher ΔE compared to non-irradiated OV and RT groups which were not significantly different from each other. The average temperature rise of bleaching agents in HI and LI groups after 10 min irradiation was 15.00 °C and 11.80 °C, respectively. The effect of photo-thermal acceleration was proved for an in-office bleaching agent without photocatalysts in vitro.