Influence of Storing Composite Filling Materials in a Low-pH Artificial Saliva on Their Mechanical Properties—An In Vitro Study

Abstract

Restorative composites are subjected to various influences in the oral cavity environment, such as high or low temperatures, the mechanical force generated during mastication, colonization of various microorganisms, and low pH, which may result from ingested food and the influence of microbial flora. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a recently developed commercial artificial saliva (pH = 4, highly acidic) on 17 commercially available restorative materials. After polymerization, the samples were stored in an artificial solution for 3 and 60 days and subjected to crushing resistance and flexural strength tests. The surface additions of the materials were examined in terms of the shapes and sizes of the fillers and elemental composition. When stored in an acidic environment, the resistance of the composite materials was reduced by 2–12%. Larger compressive and flexural strength resistance values were observed for composites that could be bonded to microfilled materials (invented before 2000). This may result from the filler structure taking an irregular form, which results in a faster hydrolysis of silane bonds. All composite materials meet the standard requirements when stored for a long period in an acidic environment. However, storage of the materials in an acid environment has a destructive impact on the materials’ properties.