Optical properties of contemporary monolithic CAD-CAM restorative materials at different thicknesses

This study evaluated the optical properties of contemporary monolithic CAD-CAM materials with different chemical compositions.

Totally, 210 rectangular-shaped, A2 shade specimens (12 × 14 mm) were fabricated from VITA Suprinity T, VITA Enamic T, VITA Mark II, GC Cerasmart LT, Lava Ultimate LT, IPS e.max CAD LT and Prettau Anterior blocks and polished to thicknesses of 0.5 ± 0.01 and 1.0 ± 0.01 mm (n = 15 each material). A dental spectrophotometer (VITA Easyshade Compact) was used to calculate the translucency parameter (TP) and opalescence parameter (OP) values of all tested materials. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance, multiple comparison Tukey's test and independent samples t-test (P = .05).

In the 0.5-mm thickness group, GC Cerasmart and Prettau Anterior had the highest and lowest translucency values, respectively. VITA Suprinity had the highest OP value, whereas VITA Mark II and Prettau Anterior had the lowest OP values. In the 1.0-mm thickness group, GC Cerasmart and Lava Ultimate had the highest translucency, whereas Prettau Anterior had the lowest translucency. VITA Suprinity and Prettau Anterior had the highest and lowest OP values, respectively.

The optical properties of monolithic restorative materials were influenced by the type and thickness of the material used.

According to the results of this study, monolithic materials with different chemical compositions have revealed different optical properties. To obtain esthetic restorations and provide shade matching with natural dentition especially for anterior teeth, monolithic materials should be carefully chosen.