Tooth Bleaching and Its Adverse Effects: A Review

The technique of lightening the shade of a person's teeth is known as tooth whitening or tooth bleaching. For a variety of reasons, teeth can become discoloured, and whitening is frequently the preferred solution. Nowadays aesthetics play a major role in today’s lifestyle. One of the common procedures in cosmetic dentistry is bleaching of the tooth. There are many causes of tooth discolouration. According to the aetiology and localization it is divided into intrinsic and extrinsic causes. This review article tells us briefly about various aspects of tooth bleaching like causes of tooth discolouration, bleaching material and its mechanism, bleaching techniques and the adverse effect of bleaching. The walking bleach technique and in-office thermocatayltic bleach technique is non vital tooth bleaching techniques. Walking bleach method uses sodium perborate with distilled water while thermocatalytic bleaching uses hydrogen peroxide with heat. Extracoronal tooth bleaching techniques are in-office vital bleach technique and at-home vital bleach technique. There are number of adverse effects of tooth bleaching. Gingival irritation and tooth sensitivity are common side effects in vital tooth bleaching while root resorption, chemical burns is seen in non vital bleach technique. Chemical burn can be avoided by application of petroleum jelly or Vaseline to gingiva and oral mucosa during bleaching. Gingival irritation is mainly seen in in-home vital bleach technique where the customized tray irritates the gingiva. This can be prevented by trimming the customized tray. Tooth sensitivity is also a common side effect of vital tooth bleaching.