The influence of simulated aging on the color stability of composite resin cements
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Detection and Removal of Tooth-Colored Composite Resin Using the Fluorescence-Aided Identification Technique
Published on: July 27, 2022
Nijad R Mina1, Nadim Z Baba2, Fahad A Al-Harbi3
1Private practice, Magrabi Hospital, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Statement Of Problem:
Data for the color stability of dual-polymerized and light-polymerized resin cements used in esthetic dentistry are lacking.
Purpose:
The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the color stability of 4 types of composite resin cements after water aging.
Material And Methods:
Specimens (n=30) of each resin cement (Variolink Esthetic LC, RelyX Ultimate DC, Nexus 3 DC, Nexus 3 LC) were prepared. The shade selected was Light+ for Variolink Esthetic, B 0.5 for RelyX Ultimate, and White for both Nexus 3 DC and LC. All 120 specimens were aged by water for 30 days at 37°C under dark conditions, using a thermocycling machine. The specimens' color characteristics (L*, luminosity; a*, red-green; b*, yellow-blue) and color differences (ΔE) were measured with a spectrophotometer before day 0, after day 1, and after 30 days of immersion. Statistical analysis used ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests (α=.05).
Results:
Considering ΔE<3.3 as clinically acceptable, results showed significant color variations for all cements (RelyX Ultimate=3.69; Nexus 3 LC=3.76; Nexus 3 DC=5.34), except for Variolink Esthetic (0.88). However, this variation was significantly less when day 1 was considered the baseline measurement, showing clinically acceptable ΔE values for all types of cement.
Conclusions:
Water aging had a significant effect on color stability; most color variations occurred in the first 24 hours of polymerization, with relatively nonsignificant variations afterwards.
Related Concept Videos
Complexation Equilibria: Factors Influencing Stability of Complexes
Hydration of Cement
Soundness of Cement
RNA Stability
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Color Vision

