Tooth whitening and adherence of C.Albicans

Tooth whitening is nowadays one of the most requested aesthetic procedures by patients. Hydrogen peroxide contains unstable peroxides that produce oxygen free radicals, capable of breaking down the pigmented organic carbon components contained in the enamel matrix, converting them into shorter chain molecules and less pigmented, defined as oxidation, which continues for some time, and can decompose the organic materials into carbon dioxide and water, which would represent the loss of the enamel matrix1. One of the effects is the alteration of surface roughness and deeper cracks, as well as an increase in surface porosity, which could increase the adhesion of microorganisms. Objective: to determine if the adhesion of Candida albicans is greater in enamel subjected to bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 healthy premolars extracted with orthodontic indication from patients between 13 and 35 years old with a post extraction time of less than 6 months. Two groups were randomly assigned, control group (no bleaching only sterile water) and experimental group (professional bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide). The teeth were sterilized and then incubated with Candida albicans for 36 hours. Then a sample of the vestibular side of the teeth was taken with sterile microbruhs to be centrifuged, and the seeding was performed in plates with sabouraud glucose agar from the supernatant of the centrifugation with a volume of 7 microliters, streaked with ansa. The CFU of both groups were quantified after 36 h of incubation in an oven at 37ºC. Results: The data were processed in Excel through the real statistics add-in system, the Shapiro Wilk test was applied to determine the normal distribution of the data, the F test for variances of two samples which resulted in equal variances; therefore, the parametric T-student test for independent samples for equal variances was selected. The result for one-tailed analysis was P value of 0.04 so we can think that this difference between control and experimental group exists, and in which case there was greater adherence of Candida in the control group compared to the experimental group. Conclusion: The literature is controversial, we can assume that the greater adherence of Candida albicans in the control group was due to the antimicrobial action of the bleaching agent on the experimental group.