An evaluation of the effect of Alcohol and Non-Alcohol based mouth rinses on the microhardness of two esthetic restorative materials – An in vitro Study

Abstract

Objectives: This present study was done to evaluate the effect of different mouthrinses on the microhardness of two esthetic materials. Materials and Methods: Fifty specimens of each group i.e., Group I – nanofilled composite Group II – compomer were prepared to a size of 3 mm in diameter and 3mm in height. The prepared specimens were immersed in artificial saliva for 12 hrs followed by baseline microhardness testing. Each group was divided into five subgroups based on the mouth rinses used for immersion. SubGroup I - Alcohol + Fluoride Based Sub Group II - Alcohol + Non-fluoride Based Sub Group III - Alcohol Free + Fluoride Based Sub Group IV - Alcohol Free + Non- Fluoride Sub Group V - Artificial Saliva (Control) and were immersed for 12 hrs in respective test groups. The post-immersion microhardness testing was done using Vickers microhardness Tester. Results: Statistical analysis was done using one-way ANOVA followed by Student ‘t’ test. Group I showed statistically significant difference when compared to Group II. Conclusion: Nanofilled composites showed decrease in microhardness with alcohol based mouth rinses while compomers did not show any significant reduction in the microhardness with alcohol based mouth rinses.