“Masking Effect of Two Ceramic Materials with Different Thickness as a Monolithic Restoration”

Abstract

In vitro study was designed to evaluate the masking ability and translucency of two ceramic materials with different thicknesses when used as monolithic restoration. A total of square shaped thirty-six all ceramic specimen were constructed with dimensions of 10*10 with three different thicknesses of 0.5, 0.9 and 1.2 for the two tested materials. Eighteen specimens of lithium disilicate and eighteen specimens of resinous hybrid ceramic divided into 3 groups according to thickness so each subgroup consist of six specimens. Sectioning of the specimens was carried out using Buehler ISOMET 4000 Linear Precision Saw and polished for further standardization of surface characters. Outer surface of specimens was glazed for lithium disilicate specimens and polished for resinous hybrid ceramic specimens according to manufacture instructions, while inner surface of both materials was hydrofluoric acid etched and silanated. Black and white tiles used to represent dark and light backgrounds respectively, tooth shaded composite dies of dimensions 10*10*5 was constructed using vacuum formed sheet for assessment of masking ability of different materials and different thicknesses against darker tooth structure.