Introduction: Over-the-counter bleaching agents are considered popular cosmetic procedures that can improve the appearance of teeth. However, some individuals became obsessed by their appearance allowing high unrealistic expectations thus leading to abuse of these whitening products.
Aim: To compare the tooth shade after the proper use versus the abuse of over the counter bleaching agent.
Materials and Methods: All labial surfaces of 30 sound human maxillary incisors were protected with varnish except a window with dimensions (3mm x 3mm). Group I: Deluxe whitening kit was applied 1 hour once daily for 14 days. Group II: The kit was applied for 2 hours daily for 7 successive days (14 cycles). Group III: Bleaching for an hour twice daily for 3 days and 1 hour in the fourth day (7 cycles), then all procedures were repeated for more 7 cycles.
Results: All data was collected and statistically analyzed. By the end of bleaching cycles in both groups I & II, 50% of cases reached A1, 40% reached A2 and only 10% recorded A3. While, in group III, after the 2nd remineralizing cycle, 60% of cases recorded A2 and 40% were found with A3 values. Comparing the three groups together at each cycle, significant difference was recorded between all tested groups beginning of the 9th cycle with p value 0.047 till the end of bleaching and remineralzation cycles.
Conclusion: Proper use of bleaching agent following the manufacturer's instructions showed reliable shade improvement even if reducing the time than that proposed by the manufacturer.