Update on materials used in intracoronal bleaching.

Intracoronal bleaching has emerged as a popular technique to bleach discoloured, endodontically treated anterior teeth. Although hydrogen peroxide and sodium perborate have traditionally been used in intracoronal bleaching, some concern has been expressed regarding the use of hydrogen peroxide, mainly because of the suspected "cause and effect" relationship between hydrogen peroxide and invasive cervical root resorption. Other complications associated with use of hydrogen peroxide alone or in combination with sodium perborate include increased dentine permeability, alteration in the chemical structure of dentine, and general weakening of physical properties of dental hard tissues. This has prompted researchers to look for alternative bleaching agents as effective as the traditional bleaching agents but unassociated with such complications. Some of these alternatives have been shown to be as effective as sodium perborate in lightening tooth colour under in vitro conditions and may represent a useful alternative to the traditional materials that are currently in use.