Bleaching effectiveness and cytotoxicity of new experimental formulation of niobium-based bleaching gel

Objectives The development of new bleaching agents with minimum concentration of hydrogen peroxide (HP), without adverse effects, and with bleaching effectiveness, has great clinical relevance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bleaching efficacy and cytotoxicity of a new niobium-based bleaching gel, compared to already available HP-based gels. Materials and methods For the bleaching efficacy analysis, 40 bovine incisors were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the established bleaching protocol: control, untreated; 35HP, 35% HP bleaching gel; 6HP, 6% HP bleaching gel; NbHP, niobium gel associated with 3% HP gel. The color variation was measured in a spectrophotometer and the values of Δ L , Δ a , Δ b , and Δ E obtained. For the cell viability assay by MTT, MC3T3 cells were exposed to bleaching gel extracts (1:500, 1:250, 1:125 dilutions; immediately and 24 h). Statistical tests were performed ( P < 0.05). Results The color alteration for all bleaching gels was significant compared to control ( P < 0.05), but the NbHP gel showed a significant Δ E than other gels, with expressive color alteration at 14 days ( P < 0.05). The 35HP showed high cytotoxicity regarding control and the most groups in all periods and extracts analyzed ( P < 0.05), while the NbHP showed greater cell viability than control in the immediate period, dilution of the 1:500 and superior to 6HP in the most extracts at 24 h. Conclusion The new experimental niobium-based gel has bleaching efficacy similar to that of gels with a high concentration of HP, and it has high cytocompatibility. Clinical relevance The use of this new generation of niobium-based whitening gel associated with a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide represents the possibility of a tooth whitening with lower dentin sensitivity.