Why we don't use ZOOM Lights for Teeth Whitening

We get the occasional request for Zoom whitening from Discus Dental.  Xoom (and it's corporate cousin, Britesmile) is a trademark of Discus Dental, recently acquired by Philips, the owner of the Sonicare brand.  Because of their extraordinary marketing expense, Zoom has been a tremendous commercial success, reaching household name recognition.  Our office does not use Zoom lights.  Here's why:

There are two basic ways to cook food: high temperature for a short time, and low temperature for a longer time.  Likewise, there are two basic ways to whiten teeth: high strength peroxide for a short time in the office, or lower strength peroxide for multiple days at home.  Both whiten teeth, but there are differences.  The higher the peroxide content, the greater the risk for sensitvity during and after the whitening.

Within at-home whitening, you have over the counter white strips, and custom tray whitening kits dispensed at a dental office.  Somewhere in between are Ultradent's Tres White system, dispensed at the dental office, but one size-fits-all like white strips.

Within in-office whitening, there are systems that use lights (Zoom2, Britesmile, Lumawhite, Nupro, and many, many more) and chemically activated systems that don't use lights (Dash, Opalescence Xtra Boost, and others)   It continues to be my professional opinion that light activated in-office systems are a non-scientific gimmick that dehydrate and hyper-sensitize teeth for no additional improvement.  In the past, I've listed my 9 years of clinical experience, but this time, I'm providing a literature review of peer reviewed dental journals.

1.  Results for in-office and at home are similar, and patients who have done both prefer the home process over the in-office (Zoom) process: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20672721

2.  Using a light to whiten teeth makes no statistical difference http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20589264, with the exception of the incisors and canines.

3.  A Brazilian study found no clinical difference between whitening with a light and whitening without a light.  Using a high powered light made no difference in whitening outcome.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20002925  However, he did find that 35% hydrogen peroxide gel softens the enamel surface.

4.  A research group at Tufts University in Boston found significant rebound (loss of initial whitening result) within the first seven days, along with significant patient tooth sensitivity.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19796303

5.  There's no significant difference in result between light-activated and chemically activated in-office systems: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18833865

I can go on and on.  Don't just ask me, ask Gordon Christensen, dentistry's most well known and respected researchers.  He expresses his doubts about light assisted in-office whitening as well.  http://jada.ada.org/content/133/9/1277.full.pdf  And more here: http://aadc.org/files/I%20Have%20Had%20Enough.pdf

Hydrogen Peroxide is the active ingredient that whitens teeth; there is no statistically significant difference between brands in any study I've ever read.  As a professional, I'm absolutely mystified at the blind brand loyalty some patients have for a product with such a complete lack of evidence.  There are few other brands that command such unquestioning loyalty, especially in the face of so much evidence to the contrary.  Some dentists, even though they know the lights don't make any difference, use lights anyway to make patients feel better.

Until the science and research supports the marketing and hype, our office does will not use light assisted whitening, including Zoom Whitening.

So what do we do instead?

Here are our recommendations for most patients:

  • For most of our patients, we recommend at-home tooth whitening.  A recent study shows that it's just as effective to use professional home whitening as in office whitening: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21037194.  At home whitening has lower cost, same effectiveness, lower sensitivity, and often a longer lasting result.  And touchup treatments down the line are far less expensive. 
  • For patients with no anterior dental work and relatively straight teeth, over the counter white strips are an excellent, low cost alternative.  We've seen some patients pull of incredible results.  Follow the instructions on the box carefully.
  • For patients who do not see a good result with at-home whitening, power whitening at the office is usually plan B.  Sometimes teeth just need that massive 35% hydrogen peroxide to work.
  • For those who can't wait two weeks for a result, we start with in-office whitening, with a strong recommendation to follow with at home whitening to build on the result.  (an extra fee applies, as you're doing two procedures)  The product we use at the time of this writing is Discus Dash.  Same manufacturer and active ingredient as Zoom, just no light.  Our patients have been happy with it.
  • For those with veneers or other extensive dental work on their front teeth, we recommend consulting with us first.  Dental work doesn't whiten, so alternative strategies must be considered.

 

Other interesting research found during the lit search:

Zoom2 does produce a lasting whitening result, after a significant initial rebound after 24 to 48 hours.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20820459

Photoactivation with an LED (Zoom was not tested in this study, and uses a halogen light, not LED) yields better results with light than without.  The agents used were all designed with photoactivators.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20969438

In-Office whitening (35% hydrogen peroxide) does not decrease enamel hardness: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20420056 which suggests that the much gentler home whitening won't reduce enamel hardness, either.

Patients prefer a whiter shade than what dentists think is naturally acceptable: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20376367  

Laser tooth whitening may produce less sensitivity than halogen or LED light.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19588075  There is an anecdotal "laser numbing" effectof low level laser radiation.

Overnight tray whitening may be more effective than daytime or in-office bleaching: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19363980

When high power bleaching, three applications of 15 minutes beats one application for 40 minutes http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19363969   Our office already applies our high-power bleaching in three increments, and most kits have already adapted this methodology.

Whitening lights raise pulp chamber temperatures, but within safe limits.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19089234  So the infamous "Zoom-zingers" people tell me about are probably from the bleaching gel, not the heat of the lamp.

 

Disclosure:

The author does not have financial interest in any of the companies mentioned above.  A small portion (less than 5%) of our practice income is from teeth whitening.  We do use products from many dental companies in my practice, including Dash, the non-light version of the Zoom, also manufactured by Discus Dental.