ASSESMENT OF DENTAL ENAMEL DISCOLORATION BY FOOD: AN IN VITRO STUDY

Abstract

Background: Extrinsic tooth discoloration is a common problem with great influence on tooth color and smile esthetics. Consumption of colored beverages increases the risk of these extrinsic stains formation. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of colored beverages on tooth discoloration. Materials and Methods: 80 bovine specimens were prepared from 80 extracted bovine central incisors and randomly divided into four groups (n = 20/group): immersed in tea, coffee, cola and artificial saliva (control). The immersed time was 10 min per day in 1 and 2 weeks. Color changes were evaluated by L*, a*, b* and ∆E* values of CIELAB system using Crystaleye spectrocolorimeter. Results: Tea caused the L* values decreasingafter 1 day immersion (p < 0.05), while the a* values increased and the b* values had no changes after 2 week immersion. Coffee caused the L* and a* values decreasing after 1 day immersion (p < 0.05) while the b* values had no changes. Cola caused the L* value decreasing after 1 day immersion (p < 0.05) while a* and b* values had no changes. Following 3 weeks immersions, the color change values (∆E*) of both 3 groups were higher than 3.7 and increased over time. Conclusions: Tea, coffee and cola cause staining on bovine specimens in different levels, the primarily changes are on lightness decreasing (L*), the saturation (a* and b*) changes depend on the type of beverages. In all evaluated time points, the highest ∆E* values were observed with tea, coffee showed lower ∆E* values and cola showed the lowest ∆E* values. Key words: tea, cofee, cola, spectrocolorimeter, extrinsic discoloration