Effect of Sugary Drinks and Denture Cleanser on Color Stability and Surface Roughness of 3D Printed and CAD-CAM Milled Denture Tooth Materials. An In Vitro Study

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of various sugary drinks and a denture cleanser on the color stability and surface roughness of two tested denture teeth materials (3D printed and CAD/CAM milled).

CAD/CAM additive and subtractive techniques were used to fabricate 160 custom disc-shaped specimens from two commercially available denture teeth resins. Specimens were randomly divided into 16 groups (n = 10) based on the immersion media used: a control group (artificial salivary substitute), sugary drinks groups (Pepsi, Gatorade, and ice tea), and denture cleanser groups after exposure to sugary drinks. These immersion cycles were repeated for 180 days, and the changes in color and surface roughness measurements were recorded. The data related to change in color and surface roughness was tabulated, and the statistical analysis was performed.

When exposed to sugary drinks, the change in color for both milled and 3D-printed materials was maximum when tested specimens were exposed to ice tea (ΔE = 3.548 and 4.055), followed by a carbonated drink (Pepsi) (ΔE = 2.334 and 3.503) and sports drink (Gatorade) (ΔE = 1.272 and 1.443), respectively. Whereas the change in surface roughness was highest after exposure to carbonated drink (ΔRa = 0.052 μm and 0.074 μm), followed by ice tea (ΔRa = 0.043 μm and 0.061 μm) and sports drink (ΔRa = 0.039 μm and 0.049 μm) for milled and 3D-printed materials, respectively.

The 3D-printed denture tooth resins have poor color stability and are prone to more changes in surface roughness when exposed to different sugary drinks as compared to CAD/CAM milled denture teeth.