Comparative radiopacity of conventional and full-contour Y-TZP ceramics

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiopacity of different yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (Y-TZP) ceramics used in the fabrication of fixed dental prostheses. Disk-shaped specimens (N=120, n=30 per group) were fabricated with thicknesses of 0.3, 0.5, and 1 mm from the following four Y-TZP ceramics: Cercon ht (Degudent) (CZ), Prettau (Zirkonzahn) (ZZ), Alliance (Kuraray Noritake Dental) (NA), and Ice Zirkon (Zirkonzahn) (ICE). The optical densities of each material were measured from radiographic images, and each material (N=1) were characterized by using XRD and SEM. The results were analyzed with oneway analysis of variance and the Tukey-Kramer test (α=0.05). In the case of the ICE and NA specimens, the radiopacity significantly differed with thickness (p<0.05). However, the radiopacities of 0.5- and 0.3-mm-thick CZ and ZZ specimens were not significantly different (p>0.05). Full-contour Y-TZP materials have higher radiopacities than those of the conventional Y-TZP materials in decreased thicknesses.