Professional vital bleaching using a thin and concentrated peroxide gel on whitening strips: an integrated clinical summary

Abstract

Rapid innovation in vital bleaching continues to expand the number of treatment options available to patients, particularly in the area of at-home whitening. The development of bleaching strips represented a new paradigm in the delivery of peroxide. The efficacy and safety of bleaching strip systems delivering up to 6.5% hydrogen peroxide has been established in numerous randomized clinical trials. In 2003, a novel bleaching strip with 14% hydrogen peroxide (Crest Whitestrips Supreme) was introduced. This advanced system carries a thinner but more concentrated gel on each strip, resulting in a relatively similar total amount of peroxide as compared to other strip systems. This 2-variable change, higher concentration gel with lowered gel volume translates to improved whitening without adversely affecting oral soft tissue tolerability and irritation. This paper provides an integrated review of 9 comparative clinical trials evaluating the whitening response (six trials) and safety (nine trials) of this novel vital bleaching system. Efficacy results for the 14% hydrogen peroxide strips were significantly (p<0.05) better than the placebo or pooled positive controls evaluated in the clinical trials assessing tooth color or shade. Adverse events were similar in type to the other vital bleaching systems. Overall, the research of 408 patients showed generally better efficacy and similar to or better tolerability for the 14% hydrogen peroxide strips compared to a selected group of marketed positive bleaching controls.