Avaliação do potencial genotóxico do clareamento dental em pacientes com diferentes faixas etárias: estudo clínico controlado

Abstract

Teeth whitening has been widely used as a conservative option for aesthetic treatments. However, concerns about the safety of the method in relation to possible carcinogenicity are still raised. This controlled clinical trial evaluated the genotoxic potential of in-office teeth whitening in patients with different age groups. Thirty-two volunteers, of both sexes, were divided into two groups: group 1 - patients aged between 14 - 19 years and group 2 - 30 - 39 years. The patients underwent two whitening sessions, 7 days apart, with 35% Hydrogen Peroxide gel, for 40 minutes. The micronucleus test and nuclear changes were performed by counting 2000 cells at three times: before the bleaching procedure (T0), immediately after the end of treatment (T14) and 30 days after the end of treatment (T30). Data between the two groups, at each time interval, were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney test and between each group, at different time intervals, with the Friedman test. The micronuclei count did not indicate genotoxic potential in the groups studied: group 1: T0:0.97 ± 0.43; T14: 1.47 ± 0.62; T30: 1.34±0.68; group 2: T0: 0.81 ±0.57; T14: 1.22 ± 0.55; T30: 1.06 ± 0.75 (p>0.05), regardless of the times analyzed (p>0.05). There was a significant difference in the presence of binucleated cells in group 1 (p = 0.00), remaining increased even 30 days after the end of tooth whitening in both groups (group 1: p = 0.01 and group 2: p = 0.04). In conclusion, in-office tooth whitening does not present genotoxic potential for the micronucleus marker. Binucleated cells were more frequent in patients in both groups, remaining elevated 30 days after bleaching.