Purpose: This in vitro study investigated the effects of dietary solvents on the microhardness and color stability of CAD/CAM provisional restorations compared to conventional materials.
Methods: Disc-shaped specimens (n=200) were fabricated from self-cured acrylic resin, two 3D-printing resins (FormLabs, NextDent), and a milled material (TelioCAD). Randomization assigned specimens (n=10/group) to immersion solutions: artificial saliva, citric acid, heptane, coffee, and tea. Microhardness and color stability were evaluated. One-way and three-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test analyzed the data.
Results: Dietary solvents significantly reduced the surface microhardness of all tested materials (p<0.05). Unpolished surfaces exhibited greater color changes compared to polished ones (p<0.05) across all materials. Coffee and tea induced the most substantial reductions in hardness and the most significant color alterations (p<0.05), whereas saliva and citric acid had minimal effects.
Conclusion: Milled provisional restorations exhibited superior hardness and color stability. Dietary solvents significantly affected material properties over time, highlighting the importance of material selection for clinical applications.
Keywords: 3D-printed; color stability; food; microhardness; milled; self-cure resin.
© 2024 Alalawi et al.