Background: The constant search for an improved esthetic dental material has led investigators to realize that its performance depends on the conditions where the material is used. It has been probed that the contact with mouth rinses triggers alterations, reason why the aim of this study was to identify their possible effects of it on the integrity of nanohybrid composite resin and resin modified glass ionomer.
Material and methods: A total of 144 samples were manufactured with two nanohybrid composite resins and two resin modified glass ionomer restorative materials. The specimens were immersed in one of the three mouthwashes used in the study, for a total of 1092 minutes, with intervals of contact with artificial saliva. This strategy simulates three years of constant use of mouthwashes. The samples weight and surface roughness measurement was recorded with a precision scale and profilometer, at different stages: At the beginning of the study, after 546 minutes (simulating one and a half year), and after 1092 minutes (simulating three years).
Results: The collected data on surface roughness and weight were submitted to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), with repeated measures of three factors. The results determined shifts in values in terms of weight and roughness in all the samples. The composite resin "Grandio" group was the one that showed bigger shifts, while the glass ionomer group "Vitremer" showed stability on its structure. The evaluated mouthwashes displayed similar behavior between each other.
Conclusions: The use of mouthwashes triggered changes on the structure of both dental materials: composite resin and resin modified glass ionomer mostly associated with surface roughness. Key words:Glass ionomer, composite resin, mouthwash, roughness, degradation.