Preheating impact on the colour change of pit-and-fissure sealants after immersion in staining beverages

BackgroundThe development of techniques improving the colour stability on restorative materials has become of great importance due to pigmentation as an important factor that induces colour changes. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the preheating of resin-based pit-and-fissure sealants on colour stability when in contact with staining beverages.MethodsThe Fluroshield (Dentsply, USA) sealant was used in white and clear shades. One hundred and twenty specimens were light-cured at different temperatures (25 °C and 68 °C) and immersed in distilled water (37 °C) for 24 h (T0). Thereafter, the specimens were submerged in different solutions, such as cola soft drinks, distilled water or grape juice (n = 10), for 7 days (T1) (37 °C). The colour was measured by a digital spectrophotometer (Easy Shade, Vita Zahnfabrik) right after T0 and T1 following the CIE-L*a*b* parameter. Results were obtained after calculating the colour change after T1 (ΔE) and analysed through 3-way ANOVA test and Tukey post hoc test (p < 0.05).ResultsPreheating resulted in decreased colour change in both materials. The white Fluroshield sealant showed lower ΔE values and grape juice promoted the highest colour change.ConclusionThe preheating was effective to improve colour stability of resin-based pit-and-fissure sealants when in contact with grape juice and cola drink.