Influence of thermal tempering processes on color characteristics of different monolithic computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing ceramic materials

BACKGROUND: The optical properties of dental restoration were influenced by the sintering parameters. This study investigated the effects of different tempering processes on optical properties of three monolithic Cad-Cam ceramics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 135 monolithic material bars (4 mm width, 14 mm length, 1.2 mm thickness) were prepared from yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (inCoris TZI, I), zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate (Vita Suprinity, V), and lithium disilicate glass (e.max CAD, E) ceramics, with different tempering processes through slow (S), normal (N), and fast (F) cooling (n=15). The color appearance (∆EW), translucency parameter (TP), contrast ratio (CR), and opalescence parameter (OP) were determined. ANOVA and Bonferroni’s multiple comparisons were determined for significant difference (α=0.05). The grain sizes were microscopically examined by scanning electron microscope. The phase transformation of zirconia was determined using X ray diffraction. RESULTS: The mean±sd of ΔEW, TP, CR, OP were 74.15±0.46, 1.26±0.15, 0.977±0.006, 1.02±0.12 for IS; 74.00±0.83, 1.27±0.19, 0.977±0.007, 1.02±0.12 for IN; 74.44±0.64, 1.70±0.08, 0.965±0.003, 1.30±0.07 for IF; 73.35±1.32, 2.44±0.24, 0.958±0.006, 2.10±0.20 for VS; 66.37±0.88, 4.05±0.3, 0.911±0.010, 3.18±0.20 for VN; 67.02±0.65, 3.79±0.17, 0.919±0.006, 3.01±0.13 for VF; 60.01±0.30, 5.53±0.17, 0.821±0.006, 2.71±0.06 for ES; 60.18±0.23, 5.49±0.17, 0.822±0.006, 2.66±0.05 for EN; and 59.82±0.26, 5.36±0.06, 0.826±0.002, 2.64±0.07 for EF. The color parameters were significantly affected by type of materials, tempering processes, and their interactions (p<0.05). Phase transformation from t→m related with tempering procedure for zirconia. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid thermal tempering process of Y-TZP resulted in larger grain size and t→m phase transformation leading to higher translucency. To achieve optimum translucency, a fast thermal tempering process was suggested for inCoris TZI and IPS e.max CAD, whilst a normal tempering process was recommended for Vita Suprinity. Key words:Color, cooling process, contrast, opalescence, thermal tempering, translucency.