Impact of acidic beverages on esthetic restorations concerning microhardness and color stability: a comparative assessment

Abstract

Recently, the focus has been placed on esthetic restorations by both clinicians and subjects. With the intake of acidic beverages popular these days, erosive wear of the esthetic restoration results in discoloration, raising a concern and affecting the cost. The objective of the current research was to assess how acidic drinks affected the microhardness and color stability of several esthetic restorative materials. 120 samples were split into three groups of 40 individuals. Each Group I had organically modified ceramics (ORMOCER), Group II had nanoceramics, and Group III had microhybrid composite restorations. The samples were made from the aluminum cylindrical mold of 5mm depth and 10mm diameter, followed by immersion in 25ml acidic beverages (Pepsi) for 10 minutes for 20 days. Microhardness was then assessed using a Vickers diamond intender for each sample on the 10th and 20th day. At baseline, mean hardness was 58.12±1.74, 60.06±0.36, and 63.22±0.44, respectively, for ormocer, nanoceramics, and microhybrid composite. It was seen that the microhardness was higher for the microhybrid composite. However, the difference was statistically non-significant between the three groups with p=0.864. Microhardness on the 10th day was highest for the microhybrid composite, followed by nanoceramics and ormocer (p= 0.001). However, on the 20th day, the difference was statistically non-significant between the three groups. The study, considering its limitations, concludes that the finest behavior and microhardness are associated with organically modified ceramics after immersion in acidic beverages. Nanoceramics showed the second-best behavior, and microhybrid composite resins were the least among the three.