'In vitro' assessment to instrumented indentation hardness tests in enamel of bovine teeth, before and after dental bleaching by laser

The laser enamel bleaching is a common used procedure due to its satisfactory esthetic results. The possible changes on the dental structures caused by the bleaching technique are of great importance. The enamel superficial microhardness changes through instrumented indentation hardness on bovine teeth were analyzed in this present study. The samples were divided in two halves, one being the control and the other irradiated with a diode laser (808 nm) or with a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) to activate the Whiteness HP bleaching gel (hydrogen peroxide at 35%). It was possible to conclude that there was a statistical significant increase on the enamel superficial microhardness (Group I, sample 1 and Group II, sample 1) despite this increase did not seem to indicate a concern regarding the enamel surface resistance change. There was not a significant statistical change on the enamel microhardness on the other samples. The final conclusion is that there was no superficial enamel morphological change after these treatments. (author)