Peroxide-Free Bleaching Gel: Effect on the Surface and Mechanical Properties of Nano- and Micro-Hybrid Restorative Composite Materials

This laboratory investigation was designed to test the influence of a novel bleaching formulation based on phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid (PAP) with additives on the surface and mechanical properties of nano- and micro-hybrid restorative composites. Twenty-four bar-shaped and twelve disk-shaped samples from each restorative composite were prepared. The samples from each restorative composite were randomly divided into two groups according to the treatment, i.e., experimental and control. The treated groups went through the bleaching process: by Opalescence Regular or novel PAP+-containing gel (HiSmile™). The treated group underwent a bleaching process for seven consecutive days (a 10-min session of bleaching application every day) before the properties were tested. A paired sample t-test was performed to compare the results between the experimental and the control groups. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The surface roughness of the nanohybrid composite using Opalescence Regular (p < 0.05) was significant. Additionally, a significant difference in nanohardness and elastic modulus between the experimental and the control groups of the microhybrid composite using Opalescence Regular was observed: p = 0.041 and p = 0.023, respectively. While a marked difference in flexural strength was observed in the experimental and control groups using Opalescence Regular, Hismile™ bleaching gel caused a diminutive and insignificant reduction in tested properties (p > 0.05). It was found that Opalescence Regular bleaching gel affects the surface and bulk properties of restorative composite materials, whereas the novel PAP+ formulation has no deleterious effect on either nano- or micro-hybrid restorative composites.