Effects of CAD/CAM ceramics and thicknesses on translucency and color masking of substrates

Abstract

Objective: To compare the translucency and masking of zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate with lithium disilicate glass-ceramic and hybrid composite. Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty disc-shaped specimens were fabricated using Enamic, Celtra Duo, IPS E.max CAD, and Suprinity. Twelve groups were prepared according to material type and thickness (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mm). The specimens were tested over five substrates: composite resin-A3.5 shade (A3.5 control group), zirconia-A1 shade (ZR), nickel–chromium alloy (NC), black (B), and white (W). A spectrophotometer operating at wavelengths from 360 to 750 nm and a view-area size of 9.53 mm was used for color measurement. Results: Mean color difference values (ΔΕ) were found to be lowest in Suprinity and highest in IPS E.max. CAD. Color difference values were significantly related to substrate shade. The A3.5 substrate revealed the significantly lowest ΔΕ values of all the substrates (P = 0.05). Regarding the translucency parameters for ceramics of different thicknesses, a significant difference was observed among all groups except in Suprinity. Conclusions: Different ceramic types with different thicknesses and substrate strongly affect translucency and masking. Clinical significance: Fabricating durable aesthetic restorations that also meets patients’ expectations is among the most significant challenges in dentistry. With high demand for more natural restorations, ceramics based on computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM) became popular and exhibited excellent results. However, various factors such as abutment shade, luting cement color, and ceramic type, thickness, and translucency may affect the prosthesis shade. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of these factors on the final shades of CAD/CAM-based ceramic restorations.