Policy on the Use of Dental Bleaching for Child and Adolescent Patients

Policy statement

The AAPD supports procedures that have been shown to be safe and effective for whitening discolored teeth of children and adolescents. Although the use of whitening agents can improve dental esthetics and enhance a person’s self-esteem, AAPD advocates dental bleaching be incorporated into an individualized, comprehensive, and sequenced treatment plan in accordance with safety and efficacy standards defined by clinical research and best practice. Because side effects are important considerations for dental bleaching, AAPD encourages:

• state regulations that restrict provision of bleaching services to credentialed practitioners.
• over-the-counter or dentist-dispensed at-home bleaching products used by young patients to be supervised by an adult.
• additional research on the use of dental whitening agents for children.

Furthermore, the AAPD discourages:

• full-arch cosmetic bleaching for patients in the mixed dentition and primary dentitions.
• use of dental bleaching products during pregnancy