Effect of enamel shades on color of layered resin composites

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the covering enamel layer of various thicknesses on the color of layered resin composites (LRC). To this end, the CIELAB parameters of the following were evaluated: underlying base (ULB: 2.0 mm of body shade + 3.0 mm of opaque shade), inherent color of the enamel shade (4.0 mm of enamel shade + ULB), and LRC disks (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 mm of enamel shade + ULB) of Filtek Supreme (FS, 3M) and Gradia Direct (GD, GC). To assess the effect of the enamel layer on the color of LRC, color difference between ULB and LRC was calculated. With FS, the enamel layer had no major effect on the color of LRC--regardless of thickness. With GD, the enamel layer had a significant effect on the color of LRC, even if the thickness was only 0.5 mm. The difference in enamel layer effect between the two products could be attributed to the difference in color characteristics of the two enamel shades.