A composite disclosing agent can help dentists distinguish resin boundaries from the tooth structure and facilitate its complete removal while avoiding damage to the surrounding sound tooth structures. In this study we characterized the interaction of composite resin with various organic molecules with functional groups comparable to composite monomers which resulted in the development of a composite disclosing agent. The adhesion of these molecules to composite and tooth enamel and the ability to selectively stain composite were verified using spectrophotometry and other techniques. The optimal staining conditions were confirmed clinically in a pilot study on orthodontic patients. Our results indicated that a molecule with phenyl groups resembling composite monomers, such as methyl salicylate, was able to adsorb to composite resin through Van Der Waals forces and not tooth enamel and serve as a primer for a disclosing agent.
Keywords: clinical case; composite resin; dental enamel; disclosing agent; discoloration.