Color compatibility between dental structures and three different types of ceramic systems

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials
• Color Science in Dentistry

Background:

• Accurate color matching is crucial for esthetic dental restorations.
• Understanding the color compatibility between dental substrates (enamel, dentin) and ceramic materials is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the color compatibility of three ceramic systems with human enamel and dentin.
• To compare the color differences (CIELAB/CIEDE2000) and Coverage Error (CE) between ceramic materials and natural tooth structures.

Main Methods:

• Prepared 1 and 2 mm thick samples of human tooth (enamel and dentin) and three ceramic systems (Vita Suprinity-VS, Vita Enamic-VE, Noritake Super Porcelain EX-3-NKT).
• Measured CIE L*a*b* color parameters using a spectroradiometer under CIE 45°/0° geometry.
• Calculated color differences (ΔE₀₀/ΔE*ab) and Coverage Error (CE), analyzed using ANOVA, and compared CE values to the acceptability threshold (AT).

Main Results:

• Significant differences in lightness were observed between most ceramic systems and human dentin.
• Vita Suprinity (VS) demonstrated the best Coverage Error (CE) for enamel samples (CE₀₀=1.7 for 1mm, CE₀₀=2.3 for 2mm).
• None of the ceramic materials achieved CE lower than the acceptability threshold for dentin samples; NKT and VE showed better compatibility with dentin.

Conclusions:

• Ceramic system color coordinates significantly differed from human dentin in most instances.
• Vita Suprinity (VS) exhibited superior color compatibility with human enamel.
• Conventional feldspathic (NKT) and hybrid (VE) ceramic systems showed better color compatibility with dentin.