COLOR STABILITY AND DEGREE OF CURE OF DIRECT COMPOSITE RESTORATIVES AFTER ACCELERATED AGING.

Purpose: This study evaluated the color changes and amount of remaining C = C bonds (%RDB) in three dental composites after hydrothermal- and photoaging. Methods and Materials: The materials tested were Estelite ∑, Filtek Supreme and Tetric Ceram. Specimens were fabricated from each material and subjected to L* a* b* colorimetry and FTIR spectroscopy before and after aging. Statistical evaluation of the ΔL,* Δa,* Δb,* ΔE and %ΔRDB data was performed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test. The %RDB data before and after aging were statistically analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls test. In all cases an 〈= 0.05 significance level was used. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in ΔL*, Δa*, ΔE and %ΔRDB among the materials tested. Tetric Ceram demonstrated a significant difference in Δb*. All the materials showed visually perceptible (ΔE>1) but clinically acceptable values ( ΔE<3.3). Within each material group, statistically significant differences in %RDB were noticed before and after aging (p<0.05). Filtek Supreme presented the lowest %RDB before aging, with Tetric Ceram presenting the lowest %RDB after aging (p<0.05). The %ΔRDB mean values were statistically significantly different among all the groups tested. No correlation was found between ΔE and %ΔRDB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]