The whitening of teeth is possible during orthodontic treatment with fixed braces without any esthetic loss. The in-office bleaching treatment with brackets in position also may act as a motivation factor, preventing patient withdrawal or treatment interruption. Therefore, at the end of the orthodontic treatment, the patient is able to display an aligned, functional and whitened smile. (J Esthet Restor Dent 29:83-92, 2017).

This study evaluated the Vickers hardness (VHN) and diametral tensile strength (DTS) of the composite Z100 (3M ESPE) cured with: Quartz-Tungsten-Halogen light curing unit (QTH) (700mW/cm2- 40 s) and Argon laser (1,000mW/cm2- 10 s). Specimens of 2 mm depth and 8 mm diameter were immersed for 30 days at 37 degrees C in different storage means: water, alcohol, acetic acid, propionic acid and dry (control). The DTS (n = 8) was determined with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. The VHN (n = 8) test was carried out using a 50 g load for 60 s. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (alpha = 0.05). The relationship between VHN and DTS was observed by Pearson correlation. The light source was not significant in both tests (VHN: P < 0.18; DTS: P < 0.92), but the factor storage showed significance (P < .001). Mechanical properties of the control group were statistically superior to those of the other storage groups (VHN = 102.2; DTS = 42.3 MPa). The alcohol group showed the lowest VHN (93.3) and DTS (33.8 MPa) values, which were similar to values for propionic (VHN = 97.5; DTS = 35.9 MPa) and acetic acids (VHN = 97.8; DTS = 36.1 MPa), but different from that of water (VHN = 102.2; DTS = 42.3 MPa). The relationship between VHN and DTS values presented a positive correlation (r2 = 0.90; P < 0.01).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of light exposure associated with 35% hydrogen peroxide (Pola Office, SDI, Melbourne, Vic., Australia) or 15% hydrogen peroxide (BriteSmile, Discus, Culver City, CA, USA) on the microhardness and color changes of bovine enamel. Experimental groups were Britesmile + Light (BL) (15% hydrogen peroxide + plasm arc; 4 x 20 minutes), Britesmile + No Light (BN) (BL, no light), Pola office + Light (PL) (35% hydrogen peroxide + LED; 4 x 8 minutes), and Pola office + No light (PN) (PL, no light). Color changes (DeltaE) and the CIELAB (Commission Internationale de l' Eclairage, L* a* b* color system) parameters (L*, a*, and b*) were assessed with a spectrophotometer before (B), immediately (A), 1 day and 7 days after bleaching. The microhardness was measured before (B) and after (A), the obtained data were submitted to a two-way analysis of variance, and DeltaE were submitted to t-test for each period. Only Pola Office, in which the peroxide is associated with the light, improved DeltaE when evaluated immediately after bleaching (p < 0.001). Light exposure did not influence DeltaE after 1 day or 7 days for either bleaching system. The enamel microhardness was not altered after bleaching for BriteSmile. However, enamel microhardness was reduced after bleaching for Pola Office, 283 MPa (+/-21) and 265 MPa (+/-27), respectively. It was concluded that these two bleaching systems were efficient regardless of the light systems used. However, the 35% hydrogen peroxide altered the enamel microhardness. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Enamel microhardness was affected by a 35% hydrogen peroxide in-office bleaching therapy. Moreover, the in-office bleaching outcome was not improved by using the light associated with systems tested in this study. (J Esthet Restor Dent 21:387-396, 2009).

Purpose:This study assessed the shear bond strength of 4 hard chairside reline resins (Kooliner, Tokuso Rebase Fast, Duraliner II, Ufi Gel Hard) to a rapid polymerizing denture base resin (QC-20) processed using 2 polymerization cycles (A or B), before and after thermal cycling.Materials and Methods:Cylinders (3.5 mm x 5.0 mm) of the reline resins were bonded to cylinders of QC-20 polymerized using cycle A (boiling water–20 minutes) or B (boiling water; remove heat-20 minutes; boiling water–20 minutes). For each reline resin/polymerization cycle combination, 10 specimens (groups CAt e CBt) were thermally cycled (5 and 55 °C; dwell time 30 seconds; 2,000 cycles); the other 10 were tested without thermal cycling (groups CAwt ad CBwt). Shear bond tests (0.5 mm/min) were performed on the specimens and the failure mode was assessed. Data were analyzed by 3-way ANOVA and Newman-Keuls post-hoc test (α=.05).Results:QC-20 resin demonstrated the lowest bond strengths among the reline materials (P<.05) and mainly failed cohesively. Overall, the bond strength of the hard chairside reline resins were similar (10.09±1.40 to 15.17±1.73 MPa) and most of the failures were adhesive/cohesive (mixed mode). However, Ufi Gel Hard bonded to QC-20 polymerized using cycle A and not thermally cycled showed the highest bond strength (P<.001). When Tokuso Rebase Fast and Duraliner II were bonded to QC-20 resin polymerized using cycle A, the bond strength was increased (P=.043) after thermal cycling.Conclusions:QC-20 displayed the lowest bond strength values in all groups. In general, the bond strengths of the hard chairside reline resins were comparable and not affected by polymerization cycle of QC-20 resin and thermal cycling.