Effect of Thermocycling on Colour Stability of Alkasite Restorative Material (Cention N) - An In Vitro Study

Introduction: Cention N is an alkasite based dental restorative material, it is far less expensive unlike composite materials, it has fluoride releasing property and the strength of cention N is comparable to that of dental amalgam restorations. Colour stability is one of the major and important characteristics in dentistry, dental restoration and esthetics. The aim of the study is to evaluate the colour stability of alkasite restorative material (Cention N) before and after thermocycling. Materials and Methods: Eight disc shaped samples of alkasite restorative material Cention N with 2 mm of thickness were prepared using a customised mould. After the disc sample preparation, they were numbered for identification and color stability was measured by using Vita easy shade advance spectrophotometer. L, a and b values were obtained before the thermocycling procedure. 1000 cycles of thermocycling was done which is equal to 6 months. The thermocycler used was TC 4 SD Mechatronik. The colour stability value after thermocycling was again determined using the vita easy shade spectrophotometer. Control group samples were not subjected to thermocycling. The colour stability values prior and after thermocycling were obtained and tabulated. Results: Thermocycled cention N samples had low delta E values when compared to that of non thermocycled samples. Statistical analysis was done using spss software and independent t test was done. P value was found to be 0.616, showing that it is statistically insignificant. Conclusion: From this research we can conclude that thermocycling procedure has an effect on the colour stability of the cention N material. Thermocycled cention N samples had better color stability when compared to non thermocycled cention N samples.