Qualidade de vida associada ao clareamento de dentes vitais: revisão da literatura

Abstract

Scientific evidence has proven the influence of orofacial aesthetics on the oral health quality of life of adult individuals, which stimulates the psychosocial role of dental teams within a broad concept of health promotion. Teeth whitening is a highly conservative therapy capable of satisfactorily contributing to smile harmony. Thus, the aim of this study was to review the literature regarding the impact of vital teeth whitening on the quality of life associated with the oral health of adult individuals, emphasizing the tools available for study, aesthetic aspects and positive and negative effects of treatment. Because tooth color has become one of the main aesthetic aspects associated with oral health, tooth whitening has become one of the most requested dental treatments worldwide. The whitening treatment is based on the application of chemical agents capable of cleaving the long chains of pigments deposited in the mineralized dental tissues and changing the chroma associated with the color of the teeth, as a consequence. Different qualitative methods have been used in scientific studies to analyze the quality of life associated with oral health, not being different for studies involving techniques for tooth whitening. These qualitative methods of study allow the association of positive and negative experiences of individuals before, during and after tooth whitening with pain, sensitivities, discomfort, social and psychological effects, and with functional capacity. Based on the studies reviewed during this study and the limitations of the current study, it is concluded that the whitening of vital teeth has contributed to significant positive changes in the quality of life of adult individuals.