Efficacy of a Desensitizing Agent During In-Office Bleaching

January 12, 2026 updated by: Patricia Pereira-Lores, University of Santiago de Compostela

A Triple Blind Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing the Efficacy of a Desensitizing Agent Used With an In-Office Bleaching Technique

The main objective of this study is to evaluate if the use of a desensitizing agent (UltraEZ) during in-office bleaching treatment is effective in reducing tooth sensitivity , as well as doesn't affect the degree of tooth bleaching.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

  1. Visit 1: Study information and delivery of informed consent. Recording of patient's medical history, general examination, and prophylaxis. Alginate impressions will be taken of the upper and lower arches for all the patients who meet the inclusion criteria. The impressions will be poured into plaster, and individualized trays will be made for each patient. A positioning guide-finder tray will be fabricated for each patient for color measurement.
  2. Visit 2: Initial color measurement with a spectrophotometer and the positioning guide. Each patient will receive their individualized tray. A blinded clinical will put inside the trays the desensitizing agent (UltraEZ, Ultradent Products Inc.,South Jordan, UT,USA) or placebo. The patients had to wear it for 30 minutes. Then after a correct isolation the clinicians apply over the buccal surface from premolar to premolar of both arches the bleaching agent (Opalescence Boost 40%, Ultradent Products, South Jordan, USA).Two application of 20 minutes each. The sensitivity was recorded and patient were given a sensitivity test to record at home.
  3. Visit 3: One week after the first bleaching session. Color measurement with a spectrophotometer and the positioning guide. In this visit the second bleaching session was done with the same steps as visit 2.
  4. Visit 4: 15 days after the second bleaching session. Final data collection (color + patients sensitivity test)

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • A Coruña
      • Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain, 15705
        • School of Medicine and Dentistry

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • No oral os systemic pathology
  • Periodontally Healthy
  • No cavities
  • Tooth shade of the canines A2 or darker

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Adhesive restorations or protheses in the anterior region
  • Enamel or dentin alterations
  • Smoking habits
  • Pregnant women
  • Undergone prior bleaching treatment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: UltraEZ Group
A blinded clinician put in the patient bleaching trays the UltraEZ desensitizing gel, patients had to wear it 30 minutes before the session of in-office bleaching
General Examination with bite-wings, dental prophylaxis, alginate impressions of both arches, creation of individualized bleaching trays and position finder trays. Application of the UltraEZ in the bleaching trays for 30 minutes. Isolation of the gingival tissues. Two applications of the bleaching agent of 20 minutes
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group
A blinded clinician put in the patient bleaching trays the placebo desensitizing gel, patients had to wear it 30 minutes before the session of in-office bleaching
General Examination with bite-wings, dental prophylaxis, alginate impressions of both arches, creation of individualized bleaching trays and position finder trays. Application of the placebo in the bleaching trays for 30 minutes. Isolation of the gingival tissues. Two applications of the bleaching agent of 20 minutes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Questionary of dental sensitivity
Time Frame: Perioperative, 1 hour postoperative, 24 hours postoperative, 48 hours postoperative

General tooth sensitivity was assessed using a 5-point Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), where 0 = no sensitivity; 1 = mild discomfort; 2 = moderate discomfort that does not interfere with daily activities; 3 = considerable discomfort leading to avoidance of certain foods and beverages; and 4 = severe sensitivity requiring interruption of the bleaching treatment. Participants selected the numeric value that best represented their perceived level of tooth sensitivity.

Pain intensity was recorded at the following time points:

  • Perioperative
  • 1 hour postoperatively
  • 24 hours postoperatively
  • 48 hours postoperatively
Perioperative, 1 hour postoperative, 24 hours postoperative, 48 hours postoperative

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Color evaluation of each patient
Time Frame: Baseline (Bleaching Day 1), 1 week later baseline (Before Bleaching day 2), Revision (One week after second bleaching session)

Tooth color will be measured using a dental spectrophotometer, recording the following parameters: L (lightness, representing the shade from black to white on a scale of 0 to 100), a (color variation along the red-green axis, with positive values toward red/purple and negative values toward green/blue), b (color variation along the yellow-blue axis, with positive values toward yellow and negative values toward blue/purple), C (chroma, describing the intensity or saturation of a color, expressed on a scale from 0 to 40, where 0 indicates no saturation and 40 the maximum saturation), and hº (hue, representing the dominant wavelength of a color on a continuous circular scale from 0° to 360°).

Color changes between visits will be calculated using the CIELab, CIEDE2000, and White Index for Dentistry (WID) formulas.

Color measurements will be recorded at the following time points:

  • Baseline (Bleaching Day 1)
  • One week after baseline (Before Bleaching Day 2)
  • Follow-up (One week after)
Baseline (Bleaching Day 1), 1 week later baseline (Before Bleaching day 2), Revision (One week after second bleaching session)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 16, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

July 16, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 10, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 12, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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