Tooth bleaching and pit and fissure stain.

Purpose: To investigate if tooth whitening had any effect on the shade of occlusal pit and fissure stains and whether reservoirs in bleaching trays affected bleaching of occlusal pit and fissure stains.

Methods: 96 extracted molars were randomly divided into three paired groups for whitening using a 10% carbamide peroxide solution (Opalescence) or a 22% carbamide peroxide solution (Nite White Excel 3), or tap water for a control. One of each pair utilized reservoirs in their custom bleaching trays. Three dentists evaluated the shade of a specified occlusal area of pit and fissure stain twice before bleaching and twice after bleaching.

Results: Pit and fissure stain showed significant lightening of shade for either of the bleaching systems (P < 0.0005) but not the control (P = 0.816). There was no significant difference in pit and fissure stain shade lightening following treatment between those groups utilizing reservoirs in the custom trays and those without reservoirs (P = 0.658).