An overview of vital tooth bleaching
Aurum Journal of Health Sciences. 2020;2(2):115-139.
ABSTRACT
Bleaching of tooth discolorations became more attractive with the increasing importance of aesthetics. Therefore, in recent years, bleaching treatment has become one of the fastest-growing parts of aesthetic dentistry. Bleaching can generally be carried out with hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide both at-home and in-office. Bleaching systems have been offered to the public as a more conservative and economical approach for improving dental appearance. However, the dental profession should maintain high ethical standards and not recommend cosmetic adjustments to the tooth color to suit the patient's demand. Therefore, in this article, vital tooth whitening applications are discussed.
KEYWORDS
Discoloration · tooth color · bleaching · whitening · vital
STUDY SUMMARY
This narrative review discusses bleaching of vital teeth as part of aesthetic dentistry. It covers the agents used, hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide, and the at-home and in-office application routes, together with the considerations that accompany them. The article presents bleaching as a conservative option while noting that the profession should keep to ethical standards rather than adjusting tooth colour purely on patient request.