Effect of Alcoholic Beverages on the Surface Microhardness of Three Restorative Materials

To investigate the titratable acidity and erosive potential of alcoholic beverages on the surface hardness of three restorative materials. A Zirconia - reinforced glass ionomer cement (Zirconomer), an Alkasite based material (Cention N) and a bulk fill composite (Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative) were the restorative materials tested in this study. Beverages tested were deionized water, beer, red wine and whisky. Surface microhardness testing was carried out before and after immersion using a microhardness tester with a diamond Vickers indenter (MMT-X7A, Matsuzawa, Japan). Statistical analysis: Data was analysed using two-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey’s test (P < 0.05). Among the beverages tested, Red wine had the highest erosive potential. Microhardness of all three restorative materials significantly reduced after 7days of immersion in all the alcoholic beverages tested. Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative showed the least degradation among the three restorative materials. Alcoholic beverages, depending on their acidity and alcohol content, could cause degradation in the surface microhardness of restorative materials.