Effect of tooth-bleaching on the carbonate concentration in dental enamel by Raman spectroscopy.
BACKGROUND
There are not many studies evaluating the effects of surface treatments at the molecular level. The aim of thisin vitrostudy was to analyze the concentration of carbonate molecules in dental enamel by Raman spectroscopy after the application of in-office and home whitening agents.


METHODS
Sixty human teeth were randomly divided into six groups and exposed to three different home bleaching gels (Day White) and three in-office whitening agents (Zoom! Whitespeed and PolaOffice) according to the manufacturer´s instructions. The concentration of carbonate molecules in enamel was measured prior to and during the treatment by means of Raman spectroscopy. Statistical analysis included repeated measures analysis of variance (p≤0.05) and Bonferroni pairwise comparisons.


RESULTS
At home bleaching agents depicted a decrease in the carbonate molecule. This decrease was statistically significant for the bleaching gel with the highest hydrogen peroxide concentration (p≤0,05). In-office whitening agents caused an increase in carbonate, which was significant for all three groups (p≤0,05).


CONCLUSIONS
In-office bleaching gels seem to cause a gain in carbonate of the enamel structure, whilst at-home whitening gels caused a loss in carbonate.Key words:Bleaching, whitening, hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, Raman spectroscopy, carbonate.
Dental Faculty, University of Costa Rica. Postgraduate Program in Prosthodontics, University of Costa Rica.
Tatiana
T
Vargas-Koudriavtsev
School of Physics, University of Costa Rica. Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of Costa Rica. Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria.
Óscar-Andrey
ÓA
Herrera-Sancho