Tooth Sensitivity During Whitening Treatments

Let’s talk about the appropriate application technique for dental material.

If you’ve ever logged onto Pinterest or any other social media platform, you’ve no doubt seen some of the many trends, tricks, and recipes for easy, cheap, “at-home teeth whitening” treatments.

During a root canal procedure, it's imperative that clinicians debride and cleanse canals thoroughly with endodontic irrigants—even where instruments can't reach. However, this can prove tricky, as irrigants must reach where they are needed without expressing beyond the apex of the canal.

The desire for whiter teeth and attaining the associated ideal of beauty are probably as old as mankind itself. However, it is interesting to note that many patients are still hesitant and critical when it comes to tooth whitening. Questions about the possible risks for enamel and general oral health keep coming up. There are also concerns about irreversible sensitivities and related complaints. In these cases comprehensive counseling is particularly important. We inform patients that, contrary to numerous rumors, the enamel is neither removed nor damaged, because when professional whitening products are used, molecules are exchanged during the whitening process. During this process, oxygen radicals decompose the color pigments in the tooth and start the whitening process. In our practice, it is important for us to exclusively use products that do not cause enamel damage, as their mode of action is based on the exchange of molecules. Furthermore, we are careful to choose products based on potassium nitrate, which reduce dehydration of the teeth and thus counteract the formation of sensitivities during treatment. In our experience, sensitivities can thus be virtually ruled out. Should sensitivities nevertheless occur, they usually disappear again within a few days by themselves. To accelerate this, patients should drink plenty of water, particularly in the morning, to compensate for dehydration. In some cases, additional treatment can be carried out with a desensitizer based on potassium nitrate, such as UltraEZ TM, if necessary.

Prosthetics was my favorite topic during my time as a student at Loma Linda University in California, as well as later as a young dentist. I was fascinated by exact fitting crowns, bridges, and inlays made of gold alloy. But on the other hand, I was even more disappointed when I noticed that a crown margin turned out to be insufficient and did not match with the preparation margin.

Introduction The evolution of modern composite systems has enabled clinicians to obtain increasingly efficient results from both an aesthetic as well as a functional point of view. In fact, the introduction of filler particles of different sizes has improved the performance of composites, allowing the combination of ideal aesthetic results due to high biomechanical composite material characteristics and the adhesive tooth restoration complex.

A study1 in the U.S. has shown, and it should not be much different in Europe, that we generate approx. 50% of our income with treatments using light polymerization (direct or indirect restorations). That‘s why this topic deserves an appropriate degree of attention: Which lights do I use? How are they handled?

Tooth whitening can have many faces. The indications and requirements are as different as the variety of existing treatment concepts: equally in terms of the application duration and in terms of the practical expenditure of time and money. Therefore, it is recommendable to determine the patients’ requirements and objectives in detail prior to the start of a specific treatment protocol. A suitable opportunity is provided during the regular oral hygiene sessions which, by the way, build the foundation of every whitening treatment.

Recently, I received a letter from Dr. David D. May, a dentist from Hemet, California, of which I would like to share a short extract with you: „I am a self-appointed Bondodontist“.