Color stability of nonpigmented and pigmented maxillofacial silicone elastomer exposed to 3 different environments.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The color degradation of maxillofacial prostheses in clinical service requires their frequent renewal. How different materials compare is unclear.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the color stability of a nonpigmented and pigmented maxillofacial silicone when stored in darkness and exposed to accelerated aging in a weathering chamber and natural outdoor weathering.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

M511 elastomer was colored with Spectromatch Pro colorants, stored in darkness, and exposed to accelerated aging and natural outdoor weathering for 1500 hours. Test groups included nonpigmented specimens (n=18), individually pigmented specimens (n=90), and Caucasian skin tone-colored specimens (n=18). The CIELab values of the test specimens were measured using the CM-2600d spectrophotometer (Konica Minolta Sensing) at base line (0 hours) and then every 100 hours up to 1500 hours of aging. Color changes (ΔE) were calculated based on the recorded CIELab values. All data were analyzed by using linear mixed models and the Šídák multiple comparison of means test (α=.05).

RESULTS

A significant effect of time was found on the ΔE of all test specimens in all environments (P=.001). All pigmented M511 specimens demonstrated good color stability with maximum ΔE below the acceptability threshold of 2 ΔE when stored in darkness and exposed to outdoor weathering. However, nonpigmented specimens crossed this acceptability threshold when exposed to outdoor weathering with maximum ΔE values of 3.65. The greatest color changes were observed for all specimens when exposed to accelerated aging and most exceeded the acceptability threshold. Nonpigmented (ΔE, 4.86) and Indian yellow (ΔE, 5.20) demonstrated the highest color changes after 1500 hours.

CONCLUSIONS

All environments resulted in visible color changes of nonpigmented and pigmented M511 elastomer. The lowest ΔE values were observed for specimens stored in darkness and the greatest for specimens exposed to accelerated aging. The organic pigment Logwood maroon demonstrated the best color stability with maximum ΔE values below the perceptibility threshold (PT) of 1 ΔE.