Effect of Staining Solutions on Color Stability of Silorane & Methacrylate Restorative Material

color stability throughout the functional lifetime of restorations is important for the durability of treatment and of cosmetic importance. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the discoloration properties of a silorane-based (Filtek P90) and methacrylate-based (Z100) composites upon exposure to different staining solutions that are used on day to day basis (turmeric, tea, coffee, cocoa, lime, yoghurt and distilled water) for different immersion periods (1, 7, 14 and 28 days). the colors of all specimens before and after storage in the solutions were measured by a reflectance spectrophotometer based on CIE Lab system and the color differences were calculated. Data were statistically analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA and sidak post hoc test (for immersion period);‘t’ test (for each material) and one way ANOVA (for staining agents). All the staining agents showed significant difference in staining over time in both the materials. However, Z100 showed higher quantum of discoloration at all time periods at each staining agents (p<0.005). In conclusion, the silorane-based resin (Filtek P90) composites exhibited better color stability (less change in ΔE) after exposure to the staining solutions. Among the staining agents cocoa was found to be least staining followed by lime, yoghurt, coffee, tea whereas turmeric discolored the composites to the maximum. Highest discoloration was seen at day 28 in all staining agents. cocoa and lime discolored to maximum at early stages but remained stable thereafter whereas tea, coffee and turmeric progressively discolored the composite over time (Int J Biomed Sci 2015; 11 (1): 29-34).