How will surface treatments affect the translucency of porcelain laminate veneers?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether surface treatments affect the translucency of laminate veneers with different shades and thicknesses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 224 disc-shaped ceramic veneers were prepared from A1, A3, HT (High Translucent) and HO (High Opaque) shades of IPS e.max Press (Ivoclar Vivadent) with 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm thicknesses. The ceramics were divided into four groups for surface treatments. Group C: no surface treatments; Group HF: etched with hydrofluoric acid; Group SB: sandblasted with 50-µm Al(2)O(3); and Group L; irradiated with an Er;YAG laser. A translucent shade of resin cement (Rely X Veneer, 3M ESPE) was chosen for cementation. The color values of the veneers were measured with a colorimeter and translucency parameter (TP) values were calculated. A three-way ANOVA with interactions for TP values was performed and Bonferroni tests were used when appropriate (α=0.05). RESULTS: There were significant interactions between the surface treatments, ceramic shades and thicknesses (P=.001). For the 0.5-mm-thick specimens there were significant differences after the SB and L treatments. There was no significant difference between the HF and C treatments for any shades or thicknesses (P>.05). For the 1-mm-thick ceramics, there was only a significant difference between the L and C treatments for the HT shade ceramics (P=.01). There were also significant differences between the SB and C treatments except not for the HO shades (P=.768). CONCLUSION: The SB and L treatments caused laminate veneers to become more opaque; however, HF treatment did not affect the TP values. When the laminate veneers were thinner, both the shade of the ceramic and the SB and laser treatments had a greater effect on the TP values.