Effect of Polishing and Brushing on Removal of Cigarette Smoke Stains from Artificial Teeth

Abstract

DIAZ, G. M.; ALANDIA-ROMÁN, C. C.; TONANI, R.; CONTENTE, M. M. M. G.; VICENTE, S. A. F. & PIRES-DE-SOUZA, F. C. P. Effect of polishing and brushing on removal of cigarette smoke stains from artificial teeth. Int. J. Odontostomat., 9(3):405-412, 2015.ABSTRACT: Color alteration is still a disadvantage of acrylic resin teeth and this problem seems to be greater in smokers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of polishing and brushing on removal of stains from artificial teeth submitted to cigarette smoke. Forty denture teeth of distinct shades (62 and 69) were selected. The teeth were divided into 4 groups (n= 10), according to the tooth shade and method of stain removal performed: Groups 1 and 2 were submitted to the smoke of 20 cigarettes, and after new color readouts, were submitted to polishing with pumice stone and Spanish white paste. Groups 3 and 4 were submitted to 4 cycles of 5 cigarettes interspersed with standardized manual brushing. The values of color stability (DE) were compared using 2-way ANOVA, Bonferroni test (p<0.05). For all the groups, color change occurred at clinically unacceptable levels (∆E>3.3). After exposure to 20 cigarettes, the greatest degree of color change occurred for teeth in shade 62. Polishing significantly reduced the color change for groups 1 and 2, however, without significant difference between them. For Groups 3 and 4 there was no difference between the teeth of shade 62 and 69. When the treatments for each tooth shade were compared alone, there was similarity between polishing and brushing irrespective of the shade of samples. Routine manual brushing and common clinical polishing methods were capable of removing a large portion of staining caused by cigarettes, and there was no difference between the methods.