Do surface treatments affect the optical properties of ceramic veneers?

Statement Of Problem: Surface treatments may affect the optical properties of ceramic veneers before cementation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether various surface treatments affect the optical properties of different types of ceramic veneers.

Material And Methods: Disk-shaped ceramic veneers (N=280) were prepared from the IPS e.max Press, e.max CAD, Empress Esthetic, e.max Ceram, and Inline ceramic systems with 0.5-mm and 1.0-mm thicknesses. The ceramics were divided into 4 groups: no surface treatments; etched with hydrofluoric acid; airborne-particle abraded with 30-μm Al2O3; and irradiated with erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. A translucent shade of resin was chosen for cementation. Color parameters were examined with a colorimeter. Statistical analyses were done with 3-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni test (P=.05).

Results: Significant interactions were noted between the surface treatments, ceramic type, and thickness for ΔE values (P=.01), and no significant interactions were noted for L* (P=.773), a* (P=.984), and b* (P=.998). The greatest color change occurred after airborne-particle abrasion with 0.5-mm-thick e.max Press (2.9 ΔE). Significant differences in ΔE values were found among the hydrofluoric acid, airborne-particle abrasion, and laser groups for 0.5-mm-thick ceramics, except IPS Inline, and among the hydrofluoric acid, airborne-particle abrasion, and laser groups for 1.0-mm-thick ceramics, except Empress Esthetic ceramics.

Conclusions: The color change of the ceramics increased after the surface treatments, particularly as the ceramics became thinner.