Effect of Salivary pH on Color Stability of Different Flowable Composites - A Prospective In-vitro Study

Scientifically and clinically there has been lot of development in the field of aesthetic dentistry. However, there is limited or restricted information regarding the color stability of flowable composite materials.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spectrophotometric color stability of three different flowable composite materials with respect to three different pH of saliva.

The study included 90 different samples. Thirty samples in each composite group; (Group A: G-aenial universal flo; Group B: Z 350 XT flowable; Group C: Esthet x flow). All samples from each group were immersed in distilled water for 24 hours. Total color difference (ΔE) was recorded for each sample. After this 10 samples from each group were respectively immersed in 6.5, 7 and 7.5 pH of artificial saliva. All samples were kept in dark room for seven days and then ΔE for each sample was recorded and was compared to previous recorded ΔE for the same sample.

Maximum color change was seen irrespective of material in 6.5 pH of saliva. G-aenial universal flo showed least change irrespective of pH of saliva.

Thus, the present study reveals that acidic pH level affects the coloration of composite resins by affecting the surface integrity and as reported in previous studies, various coloring agents in beverages and other dietary components assists the process due to absorption of these coloring substances into the resin matrix.