Effect of different pediatric drug formulations on color stability of composite, zirconia-reinforced glass ionomer cement, and glass ionomer cement.

Introduction: Various liquid drug formulations are prescribed to the children. Frequent use of these drugs can result in staining of dental restorations, affecting their longevity and durability.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effect of different pediatric drug formulations on color stability of various esthetic restorative materials.

Materials And Methods: Three different restorative materials namely composite resin, Zirconomer Improved, and conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC) were used to prepare total 120 (40 from each) disc-shaped specimens having dimensions 12 mm × 1.5 mm. The specimens of each material were divided into five experimental groups (n = 8) through stratified random sampling technique and were immersed in five different liquid medications: Group 1 - amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, Group 2 - metronidazole, Group 3 - cephalexin, Group 4 - ibuprofen, and Group 5 - ibuprofen + paracetamol. All samples were agitated for 2 min and cycle was repeated eight hourly for 1 week with intermittent pH cycling to simulate conditions similar to the oral environment. Color stability of all specimens was evaluated using spectrophotometer. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc HSD test were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Results obtained revealed that Δ E* (color difference) elevation was significantly low with GIC (P < 0.001) and high with composite for all five groups. Amoxicillin + clavulanic acid and metronidazole group showed highest color stainability among all groups.

Conclusion: GIC showed better color stability with all drug formulations. The highest color alteration was observed in composite resin, whereas zirconia reinforced GIC showed color stability lesser than GIC but better than composite.