LASER TREATMENT/TOOTH WHITENING: Red light makes teeth white

“Bleaching gel activation with low-intensity red laser was capable of increasing the effectiveness of bleaching treatment,” reports a new study that sought to understand the benefit of three red (660 nm) light-emitting laser diodes (LEDs) applied to stained teeth treated for 30 minutes with a green-colored 35% H₂O₂–based bleaching gel.¹ The researchers, from São Paulo State University (São Paulo, Brazil), recorded their results using spectrophotometric analysis, and found a significant difference between the treated and untreated teeth (p = 0.016): The experimental group presented a significantly higher mean variation (7.21 ± 2.76) compared with the control group (5.37 ± 1.76). In addition, while the light triggered a slight increase in temperature of the teeth’s pulp (the living connective tissue and cells in the center of the tooth) the increase was not sufficient to cause damage.

1. P.R. Pleffken et al., J. Esthet. Restor. Dent., doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8240.2011.00444.x (2011).