Luminescence of selected dental composites in vitro

The work was motivated by the necessity to evaluate the emission changes of dental composites, as the emission under UV light is one of the important optical parameters of the hard tooth tissue.

Fulfill extra, Artemis and Durafill VS materials in A3.5 shade were tested. Coffee, tea, red wine and distilled water (blank) were used as staining drinks. The samples were soaked for 7 days. Total luminescence matrices were collected with an interval of 1 nm in emission and 10nm in excitation, in the front-face geometry.

The exposure of dental composites to staining drinks caused a reduction in luminescence intensity by up to 40%, the magnitude of the reduction depending on the drink and on the composite material. In the special case of the intrinsically weak fluorescent Durafill VS, the exposure to coffee apparently caused an increase in luminescence intensity due to coffee components adsorbed on the sample surface.

It is important to improve the emission stability of dental composites. The presently proposed methods are effective in evaluating the emission of dental composites. Emission needs to be tested in addition to color, as the two parameters are uncorrelated.