Is It Possible for Single-shade Composites to Mimic the Color, Lightness, Chroma, and Hue of Other Single-shade Composites? An In Vitro Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess color matching post-repair using the same or different single-shade composites of three distinct composite resin materials (Omnichroma-OM, ZenChroma-ZC, and Charisma Topaz One-CTO) following aging in coffee solution and distilled water. Evaluation focused on color change parameters (∆E00, ∆L00, ∆C00, and ∆H00).

Methods and materials: Specimens were prepared in disk shape with a diameter of 8 mm and a height of 2 mm (n=180). Half of each composite group was immersed in distilled water, while the other half was immersed in coffee solution for 12 days each (n=90). After aging, cylindrical cavities with a diameter of 4 mm and a depth of 1 mm were prepared at the center of the specimens. The cavities were repaired with both themselves and other composite resins (n=10). Color measurements of the specimens were performed using VITA Easyshade 5 (VITA Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany) at the following time points: baseline (T0), after aging (12 days) (T1), immediately after repair (T2), one day after repair (T3), one week after repair (T4), and one month after repair (T5).

Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the mean ΔE00 measurements among the study groups at all time points for each of the three composite resins (p<0.05). Similarly, statistically significant differences were found in the mean ΔE00 measurements over time for each of the three composite resins in each study group (p<0.05). The baseline measurements of materials repaired with themselves in the distilled water groups and the final measurements of materials repaired with themselves in the coffee groups were found to be within acceptable ∆E00limits. At the end of the study, only CTO repaired with OM showed acceptable color matching with different composites in both coffee and distilled water groups.

Conclusions: Acceptable color matching was achieved when using the same material for repair in specimens aged in distilled water and coffee. However, variations in matching were observed when different materials were used for repair, indicating the need for ongoing monitoring. Contributions of ΔL00, ΔC00, and ΔH00 values to color differences vary depending on the resins and repair process and change over time.