3811 Effect of Daily Fluoride on Sensitivity Associated with Tooth Whitening
M.P. CARR1 , C. HAMM1 , and R.G. RASHID2 , 1 Ohio State University, Columbus, USA, 2 The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Columbus, USA
The recent advancement of tooth whitening products has resulted in an increase in their usage. The most common reported adverse effect of tooth whitening has been tooth sensitivity during the bleaching process.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of using daily stannous fluoride in conjunction with a tooth whitening system on tooth sensitivity.
Methods: Thirty subjects without history of tooth whitening were recruited from the patient population at OSU College of Dentistry for this study. All participants were given Crest Professional Whitening Strips (6.5% hydrogen peroxide) to use twice daily for 30 minutes, per manufacturer's instructions. Along with the whitening strips, each subject randomly received an unmarked gel solution of either Gel-Kam 0.4% stannous fluoride or a placebo, to use once a day, in the evening, for a period of one minute during the two week bleaching process. After a one-week period and at the end of the two-week period subjects completed a descriptive numerical scale (0=none to 3=severe) and a 100 mm visual analogue scale (0=none to 100 =severe) assessing sensitivity. Data was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and a One-way ANOVA.
Results: After the 2 week bleaching process the mean sensitivity scores for the fluoride and placebo groups using the descriptive scale were 1.14 and 1.4 respectively (p=0.327). The mean sensitivity scores for the two groups using the VAS scale were 28.6 and 31.7 respectively (p=0.669). Statistical significance was not found between the fluoride and the placebo groups.
Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the daily use of a stannous fluoride gel in conjunction with tooth whitening has minimal affect on tooth sensitivity. Seq #383 - Teeth Whitening 10:15 AM-11:30 AM, Saturday, 13 March 2004 Hawaii Convention Center Exhibit Hall 1-2