Evaluation of the effect of pediatric drugs and an oral rinse on primary teeth discoloration

Abstract

Background. Changes in the color of the teeth are a common dental finding associated with clinical and esthetic problems. Especially, the discoloration of primary teeth can cause parental concern and have a negative effect on social interactions between preschool children. Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of pediatric drugs and an oral rinse on the discoloration of primary teeth. Material and methods. Similar to medication intake recommendations, 7 primary teeth in each group were immersed for 1 min in one of 11 different solutions at 8-hour intervals for 1 week. The color values were obtained using a spectrophotometer (VITA EasyShade®) at baseline and after 1 week. The color change (ΔE*) values were calculated according to the CIELab system. The statistical analysis was conducted using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s post hoc tests at a p-value <0.05. Results. When comparing values L*, a* and b* at baseline and day 7, a statistically significant difference was found in the a* value for the teeth immersed in pseudoephedrine (p = 0.012). There were also statistically significant differences with regard to color change at day 7 (ΔE*7) between the pseudoephedrine and chlorhexidine as well as pseudoephedrine and control groups (p = 0.034 and p = 0.030, respectively). Conclusions. The ΔE*7 value for pseudoephedrine was 3.7 after 1 week, indicating that it may have the potential to cause significant tooth discoloration when used for a long period. Clinicians and children’s families should be aware of the fact that some pediatric drugs can cause tooth discoloration.