| Abstrakt: |
Aim: Due to an increased demand for better esthetic during orthodontic treatment, tooth colored brackets were introduced. Esthetic brackets can be either ceramic or composite, but their color stability remains main concern for clinicians and patients. The present in vitro study was conducted to investigate, evaluate and compare color stability of various esthetic brackets when exposed to various food dyes. Further, effect of time on color stability of esthetic brackets was evaluated. Materials and methods: Total 120 upper central incisor brackets were taken for study. They were divided into three Groups of 40 brackets each. Group I, ceramic brackets of American orthodontics, Group II, ceramic brackets of 3M Unitek and Group III composite brackets of Libral traders. Frequently used beverages; drinking water, tea, coffee, coke were used in study. For control value, color of all brackets at 0 day was noted. Then brackets of all groups were immersed in different solutions for 24 (1 day), 72 (3 days), and 144 hours (6 days) respectively and compared with control value. Results: All brackets showed significant color changes on sixth day. Group I showed ▵ E value of 5.18 for coffee, 5.17 for tea indicating more staining with coffee than tea. Group II showed ▵ E-value of 5.05 for tea, 4.16 for coffee suggesting more color variation with tea than coffee. Group III ▵ E values were 6.11 for coffee, 8.63 for tea. Hence, color variations were more prominent with tea than coffee in all groups. Coke and water discolorations were least in all groups on sixth day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
