Background: Surface microhardness and color stability of dental restorative material should be sustained throughout its functional lifetime to maintain the esthetic quality of the restoration. However, the frequent application of mouthwash may affect their surface microhardness and color stability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different types of mouthwashes with different contents on surface microhardness and color stability of dental nanohybrid resin-based composite. Methods: Disc specimens of nanohybrid resin composite (Luna Nano-Hybrid Composite) were prepared according to manufacturing instructions; specimens were incubated for 24 h in three types of mouthwash (Chlorohexidine, Listerine Green Tea, and Colgate Optic White Whitening Mouthwash). Artificial saliva was used as a control group. Surface microhardness was evaluated using Vickers microhardness device. Color stability after and before immersion in the different mouthwashes was evaluated using extra-oral spectrophotometer; the values of color change (ΔE₀₀) were subsequently calculated. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc test (p ≤ 0.05). Results: There was no significant difference between microhardness of resin composite immersed in artificial saliva, CHX, and Green Tea mouthwashes (78.5, 78.4, and 73.5, respectively) (p ≥ 0.1), while the bleaching mouthwash led to the lowest microhardness of resin composite, with significant difference compared to the three previous immersion media (p = 0.002). Moreover, there were significant differences in the color changes (ΔE₀₀) of resin composite exposed to the various immersion media (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The bleaching mouthwash led to a significant reduction in nanohybrid resin composite’s microhardness compared to the chlorohexidine and Green Tea containing mouthwashes. The resin composite’s color change was accepted in bleaching mouthwash but unaccepted in chlorohexidine and Green Tea containing mouthwashes.

The surface qualities of CAD/CAM multi-layered ceramic and hybrid ceramic materials are critical for superior aesthetics and may be impaired by the application of home bleaching. The aim of this study was to assess how home bleaching affects the surface gloss, translucency parameter (TP), and surface roughness (Ra, Rq, and Rz) of different CAD/CAM multi-layered ceramic and hybrid ceramic dental materials. The two types of innovative ceramics that were tested are ultra-translucent multi-layered (UTML) zirconia and polymer-infiltrated ceramic blocks. The samples were treated using home bleaching agents. Each specimen was tested under bleached and non-bleached conditions. The surface gloss and TP of the specimens were measured using a spectrophotometer. The surface examination was performed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, while the average surface roughness values (Ra, Rq, and Rz) were calculated using three-dimensional SEM images obtained by an imaging analysis system. A total of 120 disc-shaped resin composite specimens was distributed randomly according to each material in two main groups (n = 60): a control group immersed in 20 mL distilled water (non-bleached) (n = 30), and a second group treated with 20 mL of a home bleaching agent (Crest 3D White Multi-Care Whitening Mouthwash) for 60 s, twice daily for seven days (bleached) (n = 30). The surface gloss, TP, and surface roughness (n = 10 per test for each group) of each group (bleached and non-bleached) was tested. An independent sample t-test was used statistically to assess the effect of home bleaching on the surface gloss, translucency, and roughness of each ceramic material and to compare the two materials. The significance level was adjusted at p ≤ 0.05. The results of the bleached UTML specimens showed no significant changes regarding surface gloss, TP, and roughness, whereas the bleached Vita Enamic specimens showed a significant reduction in surface gloss and TP and increased surface roughness. Moreover, the UTML specimens showed a significantly higher initial surface gloss and TP, and a reduced surface roughness, contrary to the Vita Enamic specimens. This study concluded that surface gloss retention, translucency, and surface roughness could be negatively influenced when subjected to home bleaching according to the type and composition of the ceramic materials.

The surface characteristics of the restorative material are essential to its longevity. Since resin composites are polymeric-based materials, they could be degraded when exposed to oral conditions and chemical treatment. Certain chemical solutions, such as fluoride varnish, have the potential to deteriorate the resin composite’s surface properties such as gloss and hardness. The current study aimed to assess and compare the surface gloss and hardness of different types of dental resin composites (nanohybrid, ormocer, bulk-fill flowable direct composites, and indirect CAD/CAM resin composite blocks (BreCAM.HIPC)) after a single application of Bifluorid 10 varnish. A total of 80 disc-shaped resin composite specimens were evenly distributed in four groups of 20 specimens. These were divided into two equal subgroups of specimens with topical fluoride (TF) application (n = 10) and without TF application (n = 10). The specimens were examined for surface gloss and hardness. Independent sample t-test was used to investigate statistically the effect of TF on the gloss as well as the hardness of each material. One-way ANOVA and post hoc tests were used to assess the difference in gloss and hardness among the materials without and with TF application. The significance level was adjusted to p ≤ 0.05. The results of gloss showed that the TF application led to a significant reduction in gloss values of all tested composites. The gloss among the various materials was significantly different. The TF had no significant effect on the hardness of nanohybrid, bulk-fill flowable, and BreCAM.HIPC composites (p = 0.8, 0.6, and 0.3, respectively). On the other hand, the hardness of ormocer was significantly reduced after TF application. Comparing the different resin composite materials, the hardness significantly differed. This study concluded that surface gloss and hardness seem to be impacted by the type and composition of the resin composites and vary depending on fluoride application.

Background: 3D-printed resin composite and hybrid ceramic materials are widely used in prosthetic dentistry for their esthetic, mechanical advantages, and digital compatibility, though their surface properties may be affected by drinking habits. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of a carbonated nutritional beverage multivitamin drink (Oronamin C) on the surface microhardness, roughness, solubility, and color changes in a recently introduced 3D-printed resin composite (Permanent Crown Resin), hybrid ceramic material (Vita Enamic) and a nanohybrid resin composite (Luna). Methods: A total of 120 disk-shaped specimens were distributed according to the type of material into three groups (n = 40). These were divided into four subgroups of specimens for each test (n = 10). The specimens were examined before and after immersion in Oronamin C solution for 12 days. Results: The results showed that there was no significant change in surface microhardness and surface roughness in both 3D-printed resin composite and hybrid ceramic after immersion, while microhardness decreased significantly in the nanohybrid resin composite with an increase in surface roughness. Solubility increased significantly in the nanohybrid and 3D-printed resin composites, but not in the hybrid ceramic. All materials presented clinically acceptable color changes, with mean values lower for both nanohybrid and hybrid ceramic. Conclusions: This study concluded that the hybrid ceramic and 3D-printed resin composite exhibited good stability after Oronamin C beverage exposure, whereas the nanohybrid resin composite exhibited the most impairment among all materials. All materials demonstrated clinically acceptable color changes.

Objective: The current investigation aims to assess the clinical efficacy of intraoral photographic assessment in detecting dental caries of varying severity and to assess different variables, such as the type of dentition, examiner experience, and the type of imaging equipment, on evaluative clarity. Methods: This meta-analysis of the PRISMA-DTA systematic review and diagnostic test accuracy was conducted. They searched electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane Library from the beginning of time up to January 2025. The studies had to have evaluated intraoral photographic caries because they were required to have compared it with clinical intraoral examination and provide extractable tooth-level 2 × 2 data. Enamel (ICDAS 1 3), dentine (ICDAS 4 6), and any caries (ICDAS 1 6) were analyzed separately in a meta-analysis. A random-effects model was used to compute pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves. Subgroup analysis was done on a pre-specified basis according to dentition, type of examiner, and imaging device. This study has been registered in PROSPERO with reference number 2026 CRD420261330820. Results: Twenty-three studies were retrieved through a comprehensive search and were stratified by severity into three categories. In the case of enamel caries, sensitivity was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.62–0.68), specificity was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.94–0.95), DOR was 36.74 (95% CI: 12.44–108.49), and the AUC was 0.87. In the case of dentine caries, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.85–0.87) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.96–0.97), respectively, which produced the DOR of 176 (95% CI: 91.2–339.6) and the AUC of 0.94. Any caries had a pooled sensitivity of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.80–0.83), specificity of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96–0.97), DOR of 64.04 (95% CI: 11.65–351.94), and AUC of 0.888. Subgroup analyses revealed that diagnostic accuracy was greater when the lesions were severe. Conclusions: Intraoral photographic assessment has a moderate level of accuracy in detecting enamel lesions and has a clinically acceptable level of accuracy in detecting dentine caries. The clinical efficacy increased with the severity of lesions and was consistent with high specificity at all levels of threshold. Imaging on smartphones could be a promising method for caries screening.