EVALUATION OF THE OPTICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF A CERAMIC VITREA REINFORCED BY LEUCITE THROUGH THE USE OF DIFFERENT RINSES MOUTH

• Grant number: 24/23518-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Dental Materials
• Principal Investigator: Marco Antonio Bottino
• Grantee: Tiago Mariante Zanotelo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José dos Campos. São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic, IPS Empress CAD, is widely used in dentistry forrehabilitations due to its aesthetic and mechanical properties. However, frequent exposure to mouthrinses, especially those containing whitening agents, raises questions about potential changes in thesurface and mechanical properties of these ceramic materials. Previous studies have reported that theseproducts can compromise the durability and aesthetics of some restorative materials over time. This studyaims to evaluate changes in the surface, optical, and mechanical properties of IPS Empress CAD ceramicafter exposure to conventional and whitening mouth rinses over short and long periods. A total of 300samples will be used, divided into 10 experimental groups (n=30). Half of the samples will undergothermal aging to simulate prolonged use conditions. Then, all samples will be immersed in mouth rinses- alcohol-based chlorhexidine, alcohol-free chlorhexidine, Colgate Luminous White®, ColgateLuminous White® with activated charcoal - and in distilled water (control group), with daily solutionchanges to simulate clinical use. The samples will be evaluated through Vickers microhardness tests,surface roughness, gloss, color, and structural analyses via scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Qualitative data will be analyzed through SEM, while quantitative data will be evaluated for variance andtreated with appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests (p<0.05)