Fluorescence intensity of resin composites and dental tissues before and after accelerated aging: a comparative study

This study quantitatively evaluated the fluorescence intensity of resin composites with different opacities and translucencies and determined changes in fluorescence after accelerated aging, using human enamel and dentin as controls. Six microhybrid and nanofilled composites, each in three different shades, were tested. Ten sound human incisors were used to obtain enamel and dentin specimens separately. Fluorescence measurements were obtained with a fluorescence spectrophotometer before (baseline) and after accelerated aging at 150 kJ energy for 120 hours. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Games-Howell multiple comparison tests were performed at a significance level of 0.05. Student's t-test was also used for comparison before and after aging. At baseline, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the fluorescence intensity of dentin and any of the shades of Charisma or Opallis, Esthet-X dentin shade or Vit-l-escence enamel, or the translucent shades. After accelerated aging, all shades of the 4 Seasons, enamel and the translucent shades of Esthet-X had fluorescence intensities statistically similar to that of aged dentin (p>0.05). A significant reduction in fluorescence after aging (p<0.05) was observed for all the materials, except for human enamel and translucent Filtek Supreme XT. Accelerated aging reduced fluorescence in most of the composites evaluated.