An attractive smile plays a major role in the overall perception of physical attractiveness. This public demand for a whiter smile and improved aesthetics has made tooth whitening popular. Consequently, parents and news media request information on dental whitening for children and adolescents. Since bleaching is conservative, non-invasive, and inexpensive, it is the most opted treatment protocol by the masses. Discoloured teeth can often be totally or partially corrected by bleaching. Lot of agents and techniques are available for bleaching, but all of them directly or indirectly involve hydrogen peroxide. Higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide is always tagged with its own side effects. Several attempts have been made to achieve better bleaching results with various agents by reducing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. One such attempt is to lower the concentration of hydrogen peroxide by using vegetative enzymes as an additive to achieve the desired results. These enzymes in addition to hydrogen peroxide promote and accelerate the bleaching effect. Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapple (Ananas comosus). The enzymes added to the experimental bleaching solution reduce the activation energy of hydrogen peroxide and at the same time increase the rate of release of free radicals. The poster depicts about additive effect of pineapple extract when used along with hydrogen peroxide on stained human primary teeth when compared to the use of hydrogen peroxide without any additives.
Keywords: Bleaching, pineapple extract, bromelain, human primary teeth, hydrogen peroxide
