The Chameleon Effect of Monochromatic Composite Resin: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Aims: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the optical properties of monochromatic composite resins and conventional composite resins in direct restorations in permanent teeth.

Study Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methodology: The searches were carried out in July and August, in the following databases:: Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The articles were selected, first by title, followed by reading the abstract and finally the complete work. Two independent meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.4 software.

Results: Two hundred and eleven articles were found, 6 articles were included in this systematic review and, among these, 4 were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis when comparing monochromatic resins and conventional composite resins, using color stability data showed greater optical performance of the monochromatic resin for subgroups A2 and A3. After analyzing the age data according to the Coffee and Tea subgroups, the monochromatic resin showed no statistical difference. For color variation during bleaching, the monochromatic resin showed statistically lower color variation. For color matching, conventional resins showed higher shade matching ability compared to monochromatic composite.

Conclusion: Therefore, the monochromatic resin presented greater color stability in shades A2 and A3 and presented better results in terms of color variation compared to the conventional composite resin after bleaching.