Abstract
Objective: This study evaluated changes in the esthetic perceptions of patients subjected to in-office tooth bleaching. Material and Methods: Fifty participants included in a clinical trial evaluating the in-office tooth bleaching answered two questionnaires about their dental esthetic perceptions. The participants answered the Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES) questionnaire and the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) before and after treatment. The average scores observed at baseline were compared with those recorded after tooth bleaching using the paired t-test or the Wilcoxon signed rank test (? = 0.05). Results: Improvement in tooth color (reduction of 5.1 shade guide units) had a positive impact on patients’ perceptions. According to PIDAQ, tooth bleaching significantly increased the psychological impact and dental self-confidence; and reduced esthetic concerns. The OES demonstrated improvements in participants’ satisfaction for all questions, except for the one on “facial appearance”. However, higher effect size was observed for the question related to tooth color, as expected. Conclusion: Tooth bleaching was associated with an overall improvement in dental esthetic perception, even when only tooth color was affected.KeywordsPatient-reported outcomes; Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials; Tooth Bleaching.
Highlights
A n esthetic smile can strongly affect patients’ facial appearance, improving their selfesteem and social relations [1]
Smile attractiveness is related to several factors including shape and position of the teeth, tooth color has a strong effect on the ultimate esthetic and social perceptions, as brighter teeth are usually related to good oral health status [5]
This study was part of a double-blind, randomized, cross-over, controlled clinical trial that assessed the effect of prior use of Cicladol® on the reduction of sensitivity caused by tooth bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide (Whiteness HP Maxx, FGM, Joinvile, SC, Brazil)
Summary
A n esthetic smile can strongly affect patients’ facial appearance, improving their selfesteem and social relations [1]. Tooth bleaching has been used to treat severe cosmetic changes in tooth color, and to improve the satisfaction of patients with their smile, since esthetic requirements have increased in our society [4]. Smile attractiveness is related to several factors including shape and position of the teeth, tooth color has a strong effect on the ultimate esthetic and social perceptions, as brighter teeth are usually related to good oral health status [5]. Tooth bleaching can be achieved by using either at-home techniques – when the patient uses a hydrogen peroxide-filled tray at home, or in-office procedures, by applying high-concentration bleaching agents over the discolored teeth [8]. Despite the similar results obtained by patients who used at-home and inoffice techniques [8,10,11], those performed in-office are widely preferred by patients who are not willing to use trays or who want to avoid any contraindication associated with at-home techniques, such as gastrointestinal disorders [12]
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