This study aimed to evaluate the color stability of bulk-fill and nanohybrid resin-based composites polished with 3 different, multistep, aluminum-oxide impregnated finishing and polishing disks.

Disk-shaped specimens (8 mm in diameter and 4 mm in thickness) were light-cured between two glass slabs using one nanohybid bulk-fill (Tetric EvoCeram, Ivoclar Vivadent), one micro-hybrid bulk-fill (Quixfil, Dentsply), and two nanohybrid incremental-fill (Filtek Ultimate, 3M ESPE; Herculite XRV Ultra, Kerr) resin-based composites, and aged by thermocycling (between 5 - 55℃, 3,000 cycles). Then, they were divided into subgroups according to the polishing procedure as SwissFlex (Coltène/Whaledent), Optidisc (Kerr), and Praxis TDV (TDV Dental) (n = 12 per subgroup). One surface of each specimen was left unpolished. All specimens were immersed in coffee solution at 37℃. The color differences (ΔE) were measured after 1 and 7 days of storage using a colorimeter based on CIE Lab system. The data were analyzed by univariate ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, and Friedmann tests (α = 0.05).

Univariate ANOVA detected significant interactions between polishing procedure and composite resin and polishing procedure and storage time (p < 0.05). Significant color changes were detected after 1 day storage in coffee solution (p < 0.05), except Quixfil/Optidisc which was color-stable after 7 days (p > 0.05). Polishing reduced the discoloration resistance of Tetric EvoCeram/SwissFlex, Tetric EvoCeram/Praxis TDV, Quixfil-SwissFlex, and all Herculite XRV Ultra groups after 7 days storage (p < 0.05).

Discoloration resistance of bulk-fill resin-based composites can be significantly affected by the polishing procedures.