Does the addition of potassium nitrate to carbamide peroxide gel reduce sensitivity during at-home bleaching?

Background A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of adding potassium nitrate to carbamide peroxide gels on bleaching efficacy and on reducing the risk and intensity of tooth sensitivity. Methods PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, BBO, and Cochrane Library databases and the gray literature were searched. IADR abstracts, records of trials, dissertations and theses were also searched. The Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results Six studies were included in the systematic review and most of them had unclear risk of bias for the key domains, and of these only five were included in the meta-analysis. The risk ratio (RR) for sensitivity was 0.93 (95% CI = 0.73 to 1.19, P = 0.56). The standardized mean difference for pain intensity was -0.10 (95% CI = -0.36 to 0.16, P = 0.45), and for colour change was 0.12 (95% CI = -0.22 to 0.46; P = 0.49). Conclusions No significant differences were observed between the groups with and without addition of the desensitizer in the gel. The addition of potassium nitrate to carbamide peroxide gel did not reduce the risk and intensity of tooth sensitivity during at-home bleaching. Colour change was not influenced by the addition of potassium nitrate to the gel.