INTRODUCTION: Bleached teeth are more susceptible to stain absorption due to increased surface roughness.
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the tea stain absorption on freshly bleached enamel surface after being subjected to various remineralizing agents.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty extracted human permanent maxillary central incisors were subjected to bleaching with 15% carbamide peroxide for 3 weeks. The teeth were then divided into four groups of 10 teeth each, according to the remineralizing agent used: [Group I: control group, which was not subjected to any remineralizing agent, Group II: acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF), Group III: casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcim phosphate (CPP-ACP) and Group IV: nano carbonate apatite (n-CAP)]. Remineralization was performed for 5 minutes daily for 1 week followed by immersion in tea solution for 10 minutes for 3 consecutive days. Spectrophotometer was used for color analysis at different periods. Data were collected and statistically analyzed using ANOVA and paired t-test (p < 0.05).
RESULTS: After bleaching, the n-CAP group showed the least total color change (ΔE) with a mean of (5.13 ± 1.40) and (7.85 ± 2.21) after the the 1st and 3rd staining cycles, respectively, which was significantly lower than that of the other groups.
CONCLUSION: The reduction of tea stains absorption after bleaching varies according to the type of the remineralizing agents used.