Color stability of dental restorative materials submitted to cold temperatures for forensic purposes

In the post-mortem examination of the dental arches of accident victims in cold locations, dental restorative materials can be found. Cold temperatures can be capable of causing color changes of aesthetic materials, such as composite resin (CR) and glass ionomer cement (GIC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the cold action on the color stability of CR and GIC restorations, in order to discriminate them and enable the adequate comparison between antemortem and post-mortem data. Sixty bovine teeth (30 CR and 30 GIC) were prepared (6 × 6 × 2 mm) and separated into groups (n = 10). The color readouts were taken by a portable spectrophotometer, before and after of cold action (2.5 °C, -20 °C, -80 °C) inside of freezers. There were color alterations in the coordinates (ΔE, ΔL^∗, Δa^∗ e Δb^∗) for both materials. The authors concluded that cold was capable of producing changes in color in the two esthetic materials, with similar intensities between the two, at all the temperatures studied, when analyzed at 7 days. After being submitted to cold for 30 days, the changes were more significant for CR, allowing it to be differentiated from GIC after 30 days, at all the temperatures tested. Therefore, the test proposed in the study was shown to be practical, feasible and capable of helping Forensic Odontology with the identification of victims.