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. 2025 Jan;113(1):318-330.
doi: 10.1007/s10266-024-00976-4. Epub 2024 Jul 4.

Effects of experimental in-office bleaching gels incorporated with co-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles on dental enamel physical properties

Matheus Kury  1   2 , Fernando Luís Esteban Florez  3 , Cínthia Pereira Machado Tabchoury  4 , Vanessa Cavalli  5
Affiliations

Effects of experimental in-office bleaching gels incorporated with co-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles on dental enamel physical properties

Matheus Kury et al. Odontology. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

To evaluate the physical properties of enamel submitted to hydrogen peroxide (HP) incorporated with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (NP) co-doped with nitrogen and fluorine and irradiated with violet LED light (LT). Enamel-dentin disks were randomly allocated (T0) into groups, according to HP (HP6, HP15, or HP35) and NP (no NP, 5NP, or 10NP) concentrations, and irradiated or not with LT. A negative control (NC) group was set. After three bleaching sessions (T1, T2, and T3), specimens were stored in saliva for 14 days (T4). Enamel surface microhardness number (KHN), surface roughness (Ra), cross-sectional microhardness (ΔS), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron (SEM), and polarized light (PLM) microscopies were performed. Surface KHN was significantly influenced by NP over time, independently of LT irradiation. At T3 and T4, gels with 5NP and 10NP exhibited no KHN differences compared to NC and baseline values, which were not observed under the absence of NP. NP incorporation did not statistically interfere with the ΔS and Ra. PLM images exhibited surface/subsurface darkening areas suggestive of demineralizing regions. SEM demonstrated some intraprismatic affection in the groups without NP. EDS reported a higher enamel calcium to phosphorus ratio following 10NP gels applications. Gels with NP maintained the enamel surface microhardness levels and seemed to control surface morphology, upholding the mineral content. None of the proposed experimental protocols have negatively influenced the enamel surface roughness and the cross-sectional microhardness.

Keywords: Dental enamel; Hydrogen peroxide; Light; Nanoparticles; Tooth bleaching.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: Not applicable.

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