Evaluating the masking ability of CAD/CAM hybrid ceramics with different thicknesses

Abstract

Aim:  A discoloration existing under the restoration can affect the final restoration color, and various techniques can be used to address this situation. The aim of this study was to investigate the masking ability of the substructure, color of different hybrid CAD/CAM ceramics in various thicknesses.

Methodology: A total of 120 samples were produced from 4 different CAD/CAM hybrid ceramic blocks (Cerec blocs, GC Cerasmart, Vita Enamic, 3M Lava Ultimate) in 1, 1.5 and 2 mm thickness. The samples were sliced with 100 N pressure in a low-speed precision cutting device under water cooling. The specimens were placed over the neutral grey background for initial spectrophotometric measurements. A3 color posterior nanohybrid composite (14 X 7 X 1 mm) was preferred to mimic discoloration in the substructure. The cementation procedure of composite and the CAD/CAM hybrid ceramic complex was standardized under 10 N continuous pressure and was performed using a dual cured resin cement. All samples were incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours in incubator after cementation. And the second spectrophotometeric measurement was done via the L*, a*, and b* color attributes of the complex specimens. Additionally, ΔE* values were calculated to determine the color differences between each group. Kruskal Wallis test was used for statistical analysis and Dunn’s test was used for group comparison. Significance was evaluated at least p <0.05.

Results: It was found that thickness of the ceramics increases, the substructure color is better masked and the thickness made a statistically significant difference on the masking ability (p<0.01). For 1 mm thick samples, the highest ΔE* value was found in Cerec blocs with 9.36, while the lowest value was found in GC Cerasmart as 4.27.

Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that the tested CAD/CAM hybrid ceramics showed better masking ability than Cerec blocs.

How to cite this article: Ünalan Değirmenci B, Wahid WF. Evaluating the masking ability of CAD/CAM hybrid ceramics with different thicknesses. Int Dent Res 2021;11(2):114-20. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2021.vol11.no1.9

Linguistic Revision: The English language in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.