Effects of Apple Vinegar, Mouthwashes, and Bleaching on Color Stability and Surface Properties of Fiber-Reinforced and Non-Reinforced Restorative Materials

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of apple cider vinegar (ACV), various mouthwashes and bleaching on the color and surface roughness of fiber strip-reinforced and unreinforced restorative materials. The materials were resin composite (RC), resin-nanoceramic (RNC), and polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN); the mouthwashes were chlorhexidine with alcohol (CXA), chlorhexidine without alcohol (CX), herbal with alcohol (HRA), and herbal without alcohol (HR). Measurements were performed at T0 (baseline), T1 (1 day), T2 (2.5 days) and T3 (after bleaching). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni analyses revealed that roughness from T0-T3 was highest for RNC and lowest for PICN. Regarding the solutions, the highest increase was in ACV and lowest in artificial saliva (<i>p</i> < 0.001). At T0-T2, color change (ΔE₀₀) and whiteness index change (ΔWI_D) were highest in CXA and lowest in HR. At T2-T3, ΔE₀₀ was highest in ACV, while ΔWI_D was highest in CXA (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Although the roughness exceeded the bacterial adhesion threshold, the effect of bleaching was not considerable. Color and whiteness changes generally did not exceed the acceptability threshold. Fiber strip position did not affect roughness. However, a strip in the middle layer had higher impact on color and whiteness than the one in the top layer.