Evaluation of color changes of silicone maxillofacial materials after exposure to sunlight.

A number of authors have listed the following qualities as ideal for maxillofacial material: (1) original physical and mechanical properties comparable to the human tissue that they are replacing, (2) the ability to sustain these properties during service, (3) compatibility with human tissues and the adhesives used to adhere the prostheses to tissue, and (4) the quality of being easy to process and an insensitivity to processing variables. Clinical experience has indicated that there is frequent and for the replacement of maxillofacial appliances because of rapid discoloration in the service environment and/or degradation of the physical and dynamic properties of the base elastomer. Color stability in the service environment may be the most important factor in patient acceptance of the prosthesis. The results of this study suggested that aging rather than exposure to sunlight results in most of the color changes observed in the HTV and RTV base polymers studied.