Background: The information regarding the cytotoxicity of ceramic and resin-matrix ceramic materials subjected to over-the-counter bleaching agents is limited in the literature.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of lithium disilicate ceramic (LDC), resin nano-ceramic (RNC) and nano-hybrid composite (NHC) computer-aided design/ computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) block materials subjected to a home bleaching agent and artificial saliva.
Material and methods: A total of 432 specimens were prepared from 3 different CAD-CAM materials. Each material group was divided into 4 groups according to the storage medium (phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or artificial saliva), and whether the specimens were subjected to a bleaching agent or not. For the bleached groups, hydrogen peroxide (10%) was applied to the specimens for 30 min/day for 15 days, and the specimens were immersed in PBS or saliva after bleaching. The viability of epithelial cells was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay at the end of the 5th, 10th and 15th day of the study. The data was statistically analyzed.
Results: Regardless of the storage medium and the time period, all restorative materials decreased the viability of cells. The highest cytotoxicity levels were determined on the 15th day of the study. The application of a bleaching agent increased the cytotoxicity of the LDC specimens stored in artificial saliva. The RNC material stored in PBS demonstrated significantly higher cell viability than the LDC and NHC groups. The LDC and RNC specimens stored in artificial saliva did not show any significant difference in cytotoxicity. When the materials were subjected to bleaching, NHC demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity during all periods. No significant difference was found between the LDC and RNC specimens subjected to both artificial saliva and bleaching in terms of cytotoxicity.
Conclusions: The type of restorative material, the immersion medium, the application of a bleaching agent, and the application period affected the cytotoxicity of the materials. Over-the-counter home bleaching agents may induce cellular cytotoxicity due to the existing restorations, and patients should be informed about this potential biological response.
Keywords: cytotoxicity; home bleaching; lithium disilicate; nano-hybrid composite; resin nano-ceramic.