Effect of Simulated Gastric Juice on Color Stability of Different Artificial Teeth

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the gastric juice effect on the artificial teeth discoloration in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) under in vitro conditions. Methods: Three different artificial teeth (Ivostar, Vivodent PE, Phonares II) were used in the study (n=12). A spectrophotometer (VITA Easyshade Compact; VITA Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany) was used for initial color measurements after keeping the specimens in distilled water for 24 h. Then, they were immersed in 5% hydrochloric acid (HCl) at 37°C (pH=2) for 91 h and the color measurements were repeated. The CIEDE2000 formulation was used to calculate the color changes. The statistical analysis was performed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests. Results: Although the color differences of Vivodent PE and Phonares II materials did not exhibit a statistically significant difference (p=.95; p > .05), there was a significant difference between Ivostar and other materials (p=.02, p=.01). The 50:50% detection threshold (PT) was exceeded with Vivodent PE and Phonares II materials, while the 50:50% acceptability threshold (AT) was exceeded with Ivostar material. Conclusion: After exposure to gastric acid, all groups exhibited perceptible color differences. In the group of acrylic resin artificial teeth, the color difference was above acceptability threshold and would be better to improve. While the acrylic resin artificial teeth exhibited the highest discoloration, artificial teeth containing nanohybrid composite resin showed the least discoloration. These should be considered in the selection of artificial teeth in patients with GERD.