Abstract
Background: Tooth bleaching is a promising aesthetic treatment for shaded teeth; however, demineralized lesions also occur after bleaching, and Icon resin can infiltrate into the demineralized lesions and then improve the color of teeth. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of resin infiltration on bleached teeth that are managed with different protocols by assessing the micromorphology of enamel surfaces, the depth of resin penetration and the microhardness of enamel after bleaching and Icon resin infiltration.Methods: A total of 150 noncarious premolars with sound coronal structure, which were extracted for orthodontic purposes, were obtained in this study in three parts: part Ⅰ“micromorphology of enamel surfaces”(n=60);part II“observation the depth of the resin penetration”(n=30);part III “Vickers hardness number values”(n=60). Both part Ⅰ and part III were divided into six subgroups. Part II was divided into three subgroups. 10 samples per subgroup. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0, Mann-Whitney test.Results: The surface roughness of the teeth increased after bleaching. When etched with 15 % HCl before the resin infiltration, it would result in further increase in roughness, but the surface of the bleached teeth could be as smooth as that of normal teeth after resin infiltration. There was a statistically significant increase in the mean resin penetration depth of the bleached teeth with 5-day delay of resin infiltration over the bleached teeth with resin infiltration immediately (Mann-Whitney test, P<0.05). Otherwise,the VHN values of delayed ones were similar to the normal one.Conclusions: It suggested that Icon resin infiltration treatment should be delayed after tooth bleaching but not performed right after tooth bleaching.