ABSTRACT
Aim: The present study aimed to assess in vitro the effect ofviolet LED in tooth bleaching techniques associated or not withlow-concentration hydrogen peroxide gel on enamel surfaceroughness. Methods: Fifty-two enamel fragments of bovineteeth were flattened and polished (4x4x3 mm) and dividedinto four groups according to bleaching treatment: VL- VioletLED; HP- 7.5% hydrogen peroxide; HP+VL- 7.5% hydrogenperoxide + violet LED; C- No bleaching (control). Before thetreatments, all specimens were immersed in 20 mL of blacktea for six days, changing solutions every 24 h to simulatethe staining of specimens. Forty fragments were used toanalyze surface roughness (n=10) and 12 fragments wereused for the morphological analysis (SEM) (n=3). Results:The data were submitted to one-way ANOVA and a post-hocTukey test. The lower roughness values was observed for thegroup that did not receive bleaching treatment (C), differingsignificantly only from the group bleached with 7.5% hydrogenperoxide + violet LED (HP+VL) (p=0.0077). The remaininggroups did not show significant differences in roughnessvalues (p>0.05). The scanning electron microscopy analysisshowed irregularities on the enamel surface regardless ofthe treatment received. Conclusion: The results showedthat bleaching treatments with violet LED associated withlow-concentration hydrogen peroxide gels (7.5%) increasethe surface roughness of tooth enamel