Impact of high-consumption beverages on the color, and surface roughness and microhardness of resin-matrix ceramics

Abstract

Background. Resin-matrix ceramics have been developed to combine the high esthetics of ceramics with the mechanical properties of composite resin. The surface changes of these materials when exposed to highly consumed beverages are still not fully elucidated and need further research. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the color stability, and surface roughness and microhardness of a polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) (VITA ENAMIC® – VE) and a resin nano-ceramic (Ambarino® High-Class – AH), used to obtain computer-aided design/computer-aided manu-facturing (CAD/CAM) restorations, after immersion in high-consumption beverages. Material and methods. A total of 96 specimens were prepared (n = 48 per group – VE and AH), further subdivided into 6 groups (n = 8) according to the beverage in which they were immersed. The color change (∆E00), surface roughness (Ra) and microhardness (KHN) measurements were made before and after immersion in the beverages. Results. The materials presented significant differences in ∆E00 when immersed in distilled water (p = 0.043), coffee (p = 0.010) and red wine (p < 0.001). Acceptable values for ∆E00 were recorded for distilled water and the energy drink with regard to AH, and for the energy drink and orange juice with regard to VE. Regarding the Ra data, the VE samples showed a difference after immersion in all the tested beverages, while AH differed only when immersed in distilled water and the energy drink. Immersion in the beverages seemed to reduce KHN in the tested materials, although significant differences were detected only in the VE samples from the energy drink (p < 0.001) and orange juice (p < 0.001) groups. Conclusions. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the beverages tested may affect the esthetics and surface characteristics of the materials tested.