Effect of over the counter mouthwashes with and without alcohol on sorption and solubility of bulk fill resins

BACKGROUND: Composites sorption and solubility can be precursors of several chemical and physical processes, which lead to deleterious effects on the polymer structure. This study evaluated the effect of mouthwashes with and without alcohol on the sorption and solubility of conventional and low viscosity bulk fill resins. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four types of Bulk Fill resins (Filtek™ Bulk Fill, X-tra Fil, Filtek™ Bulk Fill Flow and X-tra Base) were submitted to the following mouthwashes: Listerine Cool Mint and Periogard (containing alcohol) and Listerine Zero and Periogard (alcohol-free). The specimens were stored in the mouthwashes for seven days. Solubility and sorption tests were performed according to ISO 4049. Data were analyzed using two-way-ANOVA, followed by Tukey Test. The data were grouped, and a paired t-test was performed to evaluate the effect of alcohol on the properties studied. The p was fixed at 5%. RESULTS: Resins immersed in alcohol-containing mouthwashes had higher values of sorption and solubility, with the highest sorption rate for X-Tra Base in Listerine Cool Mint treatment (p<0.05). Flow type resins showed higher sorption than conventional viscosity resins, irrespective of the mouthwash used (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol-containing mouthwashes affected sorption and solubility of bulk fill resins and the composites that presented worse and better performance regarding the studied properties were X-Tra Base and Filtek™ Bulk Fill, respectively. Key words:Solubility, Sorption, Mouthwashes, Bulk-fill composites.