Color Stability of Dental Restorative Materials Submitted to Heat Sources, for Forensic Purposes

During postmortem examination of the dental arches of carbonized victims, dental restorative materials may be found. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat source action on the color stability of composite resin (CR) and glass ionomer cement (GIC) restorations, to discriminate between them and compare with antemortem dental data. Sixty bovine teeth (30 CR and 30 GIC) were prepared (6 x 6 x 2 mm) and separated into groups (n = 10). The color readouts were taken by spectrophotometer, before and after heat action (100 degrees C, 200 degrees C, 300 degrees C), in an oven for 15 min. There were color alterations for all coordinates (E, L*, a* eb*) for both materials. GIC presented greater change. The authors concluded that it is possible to distinguish between the materials by the color changes analyzed by instrumental method, helping victim identification.