Correlation between dental crown’s color and pulse oximetry interpretation in teeth submitted to bleaching procedures

To evaluate the correlation between the dental crown’s color and the pulse oximeter result in healthy teeth before and after 30 days of the end bleaching procedures. Material and methods: The dental crown’s color of 70 healthy maxillary central incisors were evaluated using a spectrophotometer and the oxygen saturation level of the pulp was recorded using a pulse oximeter. The bleaching was performed using the combined technique, with 35% hydrogen peroxide bleaching gel, in the office stage, and 10% carbamide peroxide, in the at-home, for 16 days. The variables symmetry was verified by the Kolmogorov Smirnov test, and the quantitative variables described by mean and standard deviation. The correlation between quantitative variables was established using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The significance level considered was 5%. Results: A significant change was observed between values recorded by the pulse oximeter before (85.0% ± 4.1) and after (86.4% ± 2.3) 30 days of the end. Thirty days after the end of the bleaching procedures, the dental crowns were lighter with the difference between L*s equal to 1.4, more greenish with a difference between a*s equal to 1.3, and more bluish with a difference between b*s equal to -7.2. There was no correlation between the values of coordinates L*, a* and b* and the results recorded by the pulse oximeter in the initial period, respectively, or 30 days after the bleaching procedures, respectively. Conclusion: Changes in pulse oximeter recordings did not correlate with the change in the dental crown’s color promoted by bleaching procedures.