Methods and compositions for whitening teeth

Abstract

Compositions and methods for whitening the teeth of a patient or subject include the application of at least one tooth whitening composition to the surface of a stained tooth, accompanied by the application of a sealant composition that forms a protective film or coating on the tooth surface to resist moisture contamination of the oxidizing composition. The whitening procedure can be further enhanced by removal of acquired pellicle from the tooth surface prior to application of oxidizing and sealant compositions. The novel procedure allows for a high degree of tooth whitening by protecting the oxidizing composition while it is in contact with the tooth surface.

1 .- 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A tooth whitening method comprising:
 applying an oxidizing composition comprising a fluid carrier and an oxidizing agent to one or more teeth in an oral cavity; and   thereafter applying a sealant composition to the one or more teeth to which the oxidizing composition was applied, wherein the sealant composition comprises a fluid carrier and a water-resistant polymer that forms a coating that resists moisture contamination of the previously applied oxidizing agent.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising removing the sealant composition. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the fluid carrier of the oxidizing composition comprises one or more volatile solvents. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more volatile solvents of the oxidizing composition is chosen from the group comprising water, ethanol, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the fluid carrier of the sealant composition comprises a volatile solvent. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing composition is a liquid with a viscosity of less than about 100 centipoise. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the oxidizing composition is a liquid with a viscosity no greater than about 1.5 centipoise. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing composition has a Penetration Coefficient greater than about 50 cm/second into capillary pores of a substrate surface, the Penetration Coefficient (PC) being defined as follows: 
       
         
           
             
               PC 
               = 
               
                 
                   γ 
                    
                   
                       
                   
                    
                   cos 
                    
                   
                       
                   
                    
                   θ 
                 
                 
                   2 
                    
                   
                       
                   
                    
                   η 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
       where λ is the surface tension of the oxidizing composition with air (in dynes/cm), θ is the contact angle of the oxidizing composition with the porous substrate surface, and η is the viscosity of the oxidizing composition in centipoise (dyne-seconds/cm 2 ). 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the Penetration Coefficient is greater than about100 cm/second. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the contact angle θ is less than about 10°. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the surface tension λ is less than  about 40 dynes/cm. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising performing a dental prophylaxis by cleaning and scaling teeth in the oral cavity, including the one or more teeth having the oxidizing composition and sealant composition in place, in proximity to at least one of a gum line, gingival margin, and crevicular space while avoiding excessive disruption of the sealant composition. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising performing the following steps after performing the dental prophylaxis:
 applying an oxidizing composition comprising a fluid carrier and an oxidizing agent to one or more of the teeth cleaned and scaled while performing the dental prophylaxis; and   thereafter applying a sealant composition to the one or more teeth to which the oxidizing composition was applied, wherein the sealant composition comprises a fluid carrier and a water-resistant polymer that forms a coating that resists moisture contamination of the previously applied oxidizing agent.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising performing a dental prophylaxis by cleaning and scaling one or more teeth in the oral cavity prior to application of the oxidizing composition and sealant composition thereto. 
     
     
         31 . A tooth whitening method comprising:
 removing acquired pellicle from one or more teeth in an oral cavity;   applying an oxidizing composition comprising a fluid carrier and an oxidizing agent to one or more teeth after the removing step; and   thereafter applying a sealant composition to the one or more teeth to which the oxidizing composition was applied, wherein the sealant composition comprises a fluid carrier and a water-resistant polymer that forms a coating that resists moisture contamination of the previously oxidizing agent.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the removing step includes applying a liquid conditioning composition including a fluid carrier and at least one tooth conditioner. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the conditioning composition is separate from the oxidizing composition and the tooth conditioner is selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, EDTA, phytic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1′-diphosphonic acid, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         34 . A two-component composition for use in a tooth whitening procedure by application to a tooth surface in an oral cavity, the composition comprising:
 a first component including an oxidizing composition comprising a fluid carrier and an oxidizing agent for application to the tooth surface; and   a second component including a sealant composition comprising a fluid carrier and a water-resistant polymer for application to the tooth surface having the oxidizing composition thereon, wherein the oxidizing composition and the sealant composition combine on the tooth surface to form coating that resists moisture contamination of the oxidizing agent.   
     
     
         35 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the fluid carrier of the oxidizing composition comprises ethanol. 
     
     
         36 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the oxidizing composition further comprises a water-resistant polymer. 
     
     
         37 . The composition of  claim 36 , wherein the water-resistant polymer is at least one of the polymers selected from the group comprising acrylate polymers, methacrylate polymers, modified cellulosic polymers, silicone polymers, urethane polymers, polyamide polymers, vinyl polymers, vinyl pyrrolidone polymers, and maleic acid or itaconic acid polymers. 
     
     
         38 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the sealant composition further comprises a oxidizing agent. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising applying energy from an external energy source to accelerate whitening of the one or more teeth by the oxidizing agent. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the energy is selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic, light, sound, ultrasound, mechanical, vibrational, electrical, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the external energy source applies light energy. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the external energy source applies ultrasound energy. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing composition is applied by brushing the oxidizing composition onto the one or more teeth. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the sealant composition is applied by brushing the sealant composition onto one or more of the teeth having the oxidizing agent thereon. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing agent is a metal chlorite. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing agent is a hypochlorite. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the oxidizing agent is a perborate. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the sealant composition further comprises an oxidation catalyst. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the sealant composition further comprises an oxidation catalyst. 
     
     
         50 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the sealant composition further comprises an oxidation catalyst.