Color Stability and Polishability of Composites – An In-vitro Assessment

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the color stability of polished and unpolished composite restorative material

Methods: 60 Standardized specimens were prepared using (Charisma Smart Heraeus Kulzer,Germany) radio-opaque submicron-hybrid composite restorative material. The specimens were randomly divided into Group 1 – Control Unpolished, Group 2- Super Snap polishing system (SHOFU,USA) and Group 3- CompoSite Polishing Kit(SHOFU,USA) . After preparation and rehydration of the specimens, baseline color evaluations were performed using spectrophotometer. The readings were recorded according to CIELAB color space. The specimens in the Group 1, 2 and 3 were further subdivided into 5 Subgroups (artificial saliva, red wine, orange juice, sprite and cola) and immersed for 4 weeks. Subsequent to immersion and pH cycling, new color evaluations were carried out after 1 week and 4 weeks for all the experimental groups. The mean color change values were calculated.


Results: The obtained data was subjected to statistical analysis. There was a statistical significant difference in the Color stability between the Control and cola, control and red wine group. The maximum color changes were found with the use of red wine for a period of 4 weeks

Conclusions: Amongst the polished and unpolished composite restorative materials, polished composite restorative material showed less color changes as compared to unpolished composite restorative material indicating a better color stability. Hence it is recommended to polish the composite restorative material immediately after completing the restorative procedure.