Color Changes of Three Veneering Resin Composites after Staining, Bleaching, and Polishing Procedures

Methods: Hundred and thirty-five discs (12x2 mm) of Clearfil ST (Kuraray), Esthet-X (Dentsply) and Filtek A110 (3M/ESPE)were prepared. The samples were polished with Sof-Lex (3M/ESPE), Enhance (Dentsply) and PoGo (Dentsply). Five specimens/materials/ polishing systems were immersed in coffee and tea for seven days. The remaining specimens were stored in water. After one week, one side of the samples was bleached with Illuminé-office® for one hour and the other side was repolished 30s with the same systems. Color measurements were made at baseline and after 1-3-5-7 days, bleaching and repolishing with a spectrophotometer. All comparison of color change (DE*) was subjected to variance analysis (ANOVA).

Results: Filtek A110 was the most color stable resin composite while Clearfil ST was the least. All samples polished with Enhance showed less staining, while the Sof-Lex system had the most color change. Water did not exhibit variance in the DE*. There was no difference in the staining potential of coffee and tea. The resin composites tested reversed nearly to baseline color with the bleaching and to less than one day values with repolishing.

Conclusions: Coffee and tea stained equally the composites tested. Discs polished with Enhance exhibited less staining. Office bleaching has been found to be more effective than repolishing in restitution of the color. The materials used in this study were provided by Dentsply/Caulk, Kuraray and 3M/ESPE.