Transmittance of lithium disilicate ceramic of different thicknesses and opacities with different curing units

The aim of this study was to evaluate the amount of radiating energy transmitted through lithium disilicate discs of different thicknesses and opacities with different curing units (CU). Discshaped specimens 8 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm or 0.7 mm thick were designed with Zbrush® and Cura 3D® software, milled from HT and MO IPS e-maxCAD blocks (Ivoclar Vivadent) with Ceramill Mikro 4 (Amann Girrbach, Austria) and processed according to manufacturer instructions. Thickness was checked with a Mitutoyo (México) caliper. Four groups (n=4) were formed: G1(HT/1.5 mm), G2(MO/1.5 mm), G3(HT/0.7 mm) y G4(MO/0.7 mm), and the effect of three CUs: Coltolux (Coltene- Whaledent), LED.C, (Woodpecker Medical Instrument Co.Ltd) and Deepcure L(3M-ESPE) was tested Measurements were taken with a halogen and LED radiometer (Woodpecker® LM-1-Guilin Woodpecker Medical Instrument Co.Ltd) after applying the guide of each CU directly on the reading window (d) and after interposing each of the specimens. The ratio of transmitted energy was determined in each case and data was analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey test for multiple comparisons. LED.C: d:1600 mW/cm2, G1: 0.31(0.00), G2: 0.14(0.00) G3: 0.54(0.01), G4: 0.38(0.01); Deepcure L: d:1500 mW/cm2, G1: 0.34(0.01), G2: 0.20(0,00), G3: 0.56(0.01), G4: 0.41(0.02); Coltolux: d:1275 mW/cm2, G1: 0.44(0.01), G2: 0.24(0,00), G3: 0.65(0.01), G4: 0.47(0,00). Statistically significant differences were found among the curing units (P<0.001) and for the interaction CU-thickness (P<0.001) and CU-opacity (P=0.023). Within the conditions of this study, the ratio of light transmitted through lithium disilicate structures is related to their thickness and opacity, and to the curing unit employed.