Effect of bleaching agents on the fluoride release and microhardness of dental materials

The use of bleaching agents has become a popular procedure for whitening teeth. Recently introduced polyacid-modified composite resins (compomers) have several favorable features, such as improved physical properties and fluoride release. Because these two materials have many possibilities to interact in the oral cavity during dental treatment, it is necessary to understand such interaction. To evaluate the effect of a bleaching agent on dental restoratives, three compomers were photopolymerized and then bleached for 1, 2, 3 and 5 days with the use of 30% hydrogen peroxide. Fluoride release, surface microhardness, and surface modifications were evaluated. It was found that the cumulative fluoride release was found to be linearly correlated to the tested periods of bleaching in all compomers. Among the tested compomers, F2000 showed the highest cumulative fluoride release. Bleached compomers became soft because of surface degradation, so the surface microhardness decreased. F2000 showed an apparent crack formation that was not observed in other compomers. The nearly linear correlation between the filler content and microhardness was found in the control samples. However, the same correlation was not observed after the compomers were stored in a bleaching agent or distilled water. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.