A Radical-Free Approach To Teeth Whitening
Apr 27, 2023
Abstract: Background: Traditional bleaching agents based on hydrogen peroxide (HP) or carbamide peroxide (CP) have adverse soft and hard tissue effects. Objectives: This study tested a novel formulation of phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid (PAP) with additives to optimize its safety and effectiveness. Methods: A novel gel (PAP+) was formulated. Laboratory studies assessed the effects of six 10-minute exposures to PAP+ vs. commercial CP and HP gels, using surface profilometry and microhardness. The effectiveness of PAP+ in vitro against complex polyphenol stains on enamel as compared to 6% HP. Results: Unlike HP gels, PAP+ gel did not erode enamel. Unlike both CP and HP gels, PAP+ gel did not reduce the surface microhardness of enamel. PAP+ gel used on polyphenol stains was superior to 6% HP. In this model, six repeated 10-minute treatments with PAP+ gel could improve the shade by approximately eight VITA® Bleachedguide shades. Conclusions: These laboratory results support the safety and effectiveness of this new PAP formula and its use as an alternative to CP and HP with superior safety and effectiveness.
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1. Introduction
Over the past decade, vital tooth bleaching (also known as tooth whitening) has become a popular procedure. Typical products used for at-home dental bleaching use as active ingredients either hydrogen peroxide (HP) [1] or its adduct carbamide peroxide (CP) [2]. The latter produces 35% of its weight as HP in contact with water. Different HP and CP gels are used currently for at-home and in-office dental bleaching according to jurisdictional regulations. The effects of HP and CP as bleaching agents improve with longer application times and greater concentrations of available hydrogen peroxide.
Several factors limit the usefulness of HP and CP in vital tooth bleaching, including their stability and their adverse effects on oral hard and soft tissues. Extended and repeated application can lead to oral mucosal irritation as well as dentinal hypersensitivity and in some cases morphological and chemical changes to the enamel, including erosion and reduced surface microhardness [3–5]. Professional application (in-chair) protocols that involve the use of gingival barriers and soft tissue isolation can control the oral environment to reduce or prevent soft tissue irritation but cannot mitigate adverse effects on enamel [6].
In recent years, a range of inexpensive home-bleaching products has become available through online vendors or over the counter (OTC). Many of these OTC products are used without professional workup or clinical supervision. Concerns for the safety of the teeth and oral soft tissues relate to the low pH of such products (which are intended to maintain their shelf life) [7], sub-optimal binding agents [8], and a lack of gingival protection [6].

In a recent laboratory study using a gel containing PAP, there was a reduction in enamel microhardness, and an etching effect was seen on the bleached enamel [9]. Such changes likely reflect an acidic pH and a non-optimal formulation. The current report describes studies using a novel formulation of PAP (designated as PAP+) that was designed to overcome these issues, to create an efficient and safe whitening product suitable for the OTC market.
Traditional dental bleaching using HP or CP relies on free radicals, which oxidize organic pigments (chromogens). As these are converted into simpler or different structures, their optical properties change. The generation of different radical species from HP varies according to the pH and the method of activation [3]. Free radicals are unstable because they have an unpaired electron. To become stable, they will react with conjugated systems of unsaturated organic compounds. This breaks down the chromogens into simpler molecules in a redox reaction. The smaller reaction products produced from the oxidation process are less able to absorb light; hence, their color is less intense [10,11].
When using PAP, oxidation reactions also occur, which decolorize chromogens. The process involves the epoxidation of molecules containing conjugated double bonds (Figure 1). This reaction occurs without the formation of free radicals. This is an important point since free radicals are believed to be the primary cause of tooth sensitivity and gingival irritation during conventional tooth bleaching with HP and CP [12].

A range of molecules can serve as chromogens and cause intrinsic discoloration of vital teeth. There is a range of reactions whereby PAP could alter chromogens. For example, in addition to the pathway presented in Figure 1, PAP can also react with ketones through a Baeyer-Villiger oxidation reaction (Figure 2).

A common chromogen in extrinsic tooth discoloration is polyphenols. These organic molecules are found abundantly in various colored foods and beverages (including tea and red wine). They can be oxidized by peroxy acids to quinones and then potentially undergo further rearrangement reactions.

The novel formulation also included an ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate copolymer (Aristoflflex AVC) as a binding agent. This was used to avoid the unwanted side effects of bio-adhesive polymers such as Carbopol on dental enamel that have been shown previously [8]. Including this binding agent in the bleaching gel formulation does not alter the effectiveness of bleaching.
In recent years, the effectiveness of PAP as a tooth-whitening ingredient has been investigated in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial [13]. This showed signifificant bleaching effects after a single treatment, with no dental hypersensitivity or oral mucosal irritation. A more recent laboratory study published in 2019 compared a PAP-based gel against a conventional HP gel. While both had similar bleaching effects on bovine teeth, surface morphology and hardness measurements of the bleached teeth revealed that the HP gel caused some reduction in surface microhardness, while the PAP-based gel did not affect the integrity of enamel [14].
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Enamel Erosion and Hardness Tests
2.2. Bleaching Effectiveness In Vitro
3. Results
3.1. Enamel Erosion and Hardness Tests
The effects of 6 × 10 min applications of bleaching gels on the erosion of the enamel followed two distinct patterns (Table 1). There was no enamel erosion seen with either 35% CP or PAP+. Enamel surface loss from erosion (i.e., step defects) occurred in four of the six samples in each of the 6% HP and 35% HP groups. The extent of erosion in these groups was an average of 0.114 mm (SD 0.098) and 0.097 mm (SD 0.078), respectively. All data sets had Gaussian distributions. While erosion was 17.5% greater between 6% HP and 35% HP, this difference did not reach the threshold for statistical significance (two-tailed p-value of 0.8229).


The microhardness results after six 10 min treatments also showed two distinct patterns (Table 1). For the PAP group, the Vickers surface microhardness increased after treatment (12.9 ± 11.7), and this change was significantly different from the other three groups (P < 0.001). All three commercial bleaching products caused a reduction in surface microhardness, with the 35% HP gel being ranked the worst in this regard (−94.28 ± 27.09), followed by 6% HP (−62.22 ± 19.52) and then by 35% CP (−55.3 ± 24.6), with no significant difference between the latter two products. In Figure 3, examples of baseline and post-treatment SMH VK indents of the four types of treatments are reported.

3.2. Bleaching Effectiveness In Vitro
The 6% HP gel used as a positive control gave a change in shade guide units (DSGU) of 4.86 ± 2.32, while the novel PAP+ gel caused an improvement of 8.13 ± 2.82, which was significantly greater in magnitude (two-tailed p-value of 0.0110). All data sets had Gaussian distributions. Comparing the two (Table 2), the effect of PAP+ was greater than that of 6% HP by 70%. In other words, to gain the bleaching effect of two 10 min applications of PAP+ gel would require six 10 min treatments with 6% HP. The whitening achieved by the various treatments is shown in Figure 4.

4. Discussion

The inclusion of hydroxyapatite and a citrate buffer to keep the PAP bleaching gel product at a similar pH value as normal resting saliva (pH 6.5–7.0) were together intended to prevent enamel surface loss from dental erosion and a reduction in surface microhardness. Past studies have shown that enamel erosion and mineral loss are worse when bleaching gels have a low pH and no bio-available calcium [15]. It is common for commercial HP-based products to have a low pH as this extends their shelf life. On the other hand, because of ammonia generation from the degradation of urea, carbamide peroxide-based gels tend to generate a higher pH when used and thus are less likely to cause enamel erosion [16]. The present findings are consistent with this since CP did not cause erosion. Moreover, the novel PAP gel did not cause any measurable enamel erosion. This finding suggests that the inclusion of hydroxyapatite and the presence of an efficient citrate buffering system that can maintain a near-neutral pH during treatment can preserve the enamel surface.
The same considerations follow through to the issue of surface microhardness. Several in vitro studies have reported that changes in microhardness are directly correlated to the degradation of the inorganic and organic components of the tooth surface [17–19], mostly due to the actions of free radicals. The present results for HP and CP causing reduced surface microhardness are consistent with prior studies. Of interest, the novel PAP gel caused a small increase in enamel microhardness. Such changes are consistent with previous observations of topically applied bio-available hydroxyapatite in dental products [20–22].
The positive performance of the novel PAP+ gel adds to previous evidence from in vitro and clinical studies supporting the use of PAP in bleaching gels as a safe and effective alternative in OTC products to HP and CP [13,14].
5. Conclusions
References
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For more info: david.deng@wecistanche.com WhatApp:86 13632399501






