The effect of different organic solvents on the degradation of restorative materials

Influence of Various Desensitizing Mouthrinses and Simulated Toothbrushing on Surface Roughness and Microhardness of Tetric N-Ceram Bulk-Fill Resin Composite: An In Vitro Study and Scanning Electron Microscope Analysis

OBJECTIVES

 Bulk-filled composite resins are popularly used for posterior restorations due to various advantages. Routine oral hygiene measures like toothbrushing and the use of various mouthrinses can influence the mechanical properties of composite resins. Desensitizing mouthrinses are widely used as well, to manage dentinal hypersensitivity. Studies on the influence of desensitizing mouthrinses on bulk-filled composites are limited. Hence, the objective of the present in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of toothbrushing and various desensitizing mouthrinses on the surface roughness and microhardness of Tetric N-Ceram bulk-fill composite resin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 Fifty Tetric N-Ceram bulk-fill composite resin disks were prepared and were randomly divided into five groups (n = 10). Group 1 (Control): no toothbrushing and no mouthrinse; Group 2: toothbrushing only; Group 3: toothbrushing + HiOra-K mouthrinse; Group 4: toothbrushing + Listerine Sensitive mouthrinse; and Group 5: toothbrushing + Shy-OR mouthrinse. The specimens were brushed with a soft bristle brush using a toothpaste slurry and immersed in respective mouthrinse twice daily for 1 month. The mean surface roughness (average roughness) and microhardness (Vickers Pyramid number) values were determined and the data were tabulated. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, Post-hoc Tukey test, and Pearson correlation test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

 Specimens treated with HiOra-K mouthrinse exhibited maximum surface roughness (p < 0.05) and specimens treated with Listerine Sensitive exhibited the least microhardness (p < 0.05). A weak negative correlation was found between surface roughness and microhardness for groups 1, 2, and 5, while a weak positive correlation was found for groups 3 and 4.

CONCLUSIONS

 It is suggested that desensitizing mouthrinses containing alcohol or essential oils can lead to increased surface roughness and reduction in microhardness of bulk-fill composites, which could have an undesirable effect on their clinical performance.

Repair bond strength and degradation of glass ionomer cements after mechanical and chemical challenges

Aim: Little is known about the reparability of glass ionomer cements (GICs) after storage in acid environments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the solubility and repairability of GICs immersed in acid solutions and subjected to brushing. Methods: Thirty discs of each GIC (Vitremer, VitroFil LC, VitroFil, and Maxxion R) were divided into three immersion groups: distilled water, Coca-Cola, or hydrochloric acid (HCl), then subjected to brushing. The weight of discs was measured before and after the immersions to determine mass alteration. Each disc was repaired, by adding the same brand of GIC over its surface. After immersing the repaired specimens in same solutions, shear bond strengths using universal testing machine were measured. Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test was used (α=0.05). Results: Resin-modified GICs degrade after HCl immersion followed by brushing (p<0.05), while self-cured GICs were negatively affected by all challenges (p<0.05). The challenges decreased the repair strength for VitroFil LC (p<0.05), which had higher repair shear bond strength than the other GICs (p<0.05), exhibiting most cohesive failures. Conclusion: Self-cured GICs degraded when immersed in all acid solutions with brushing while resin-modified GICs only degraded following HCl immersion with brushing. Despite exhibiting the best repair results, VitroFil LC was the only GIC that was influenced by all the acid challenges.