Evaluation of the color stability of three maxillofacial silicone materials after exposure to beverages: An in vitro study

Purpose: Oral cancer often requires treatments like surgical intervention, involving surgical resection of lips and other facial parts. For those patients, prosthetic rehabilitation following surgery promotes social reintegration. This study explores the color stability of various commercially available silicone materials for facial prostheses when exposed to everyday beverages like coffee and tea. The hypothesis is that these beverages can induce color changes in silicones, simulating conditions of daily use. Material and methods: A total of 90 specimens were fabricated. There were 30 specimens deefor each of 3 nonpigmented silicone elastomers: Silfy, A-2186-F and VST-50 and were immersed in tea or coffee at drinking temperature and evaluated for color changes at time points of 0 h, 1 h, and 6 h. The color was measured with a colorimeter that used the CIE L*a*b* system and the color change ΔΕ was calculated to quantify the color change. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank Test. The threshold for statistical significance was P