Color stability of a resin nanoceramic after surface treatments, adhesive cementation, and thermal aging

Whether color changes in resin nanoceramic (RNC) restorations can occur because of material and adhesive interface degradation is unclear.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the color of RNCs submitted to surface treatments, cementation, and aging.

RNC specimens (N=120) were produced with a thickness of 0.5 mm. The No Treatment-High/Low Translucency (NT-HT/LT) groups did not receive treatments; the Airborne-particle Abrasion-High/Low Translucency (AA-HT/LT) groups were airborne-particle abraded, and the Airborne-particle Abrasion Silane-High/Low Translucency (AASIL-HT/LT) groups received airborne-particle abrasion and a silane agent. Single specimens (n=60) were measured on a spectrophotometer before and after aging (50 000 cycles). The other half was mounted on composite resin bases and measured. The cleaned specimens were cemented (C) on the bases and measured (T0 and T1). ΔE₀₀, ΔL', ΔC', and ΔH' were obtained by using the CIEDE2000 formula and analyzed by using ANOVA and repeated-measures ANOVA. Multiple comparisons were made by using the Tukey HSD test (α=.05).

For single specimens, the greatest ΔE₀₀ values were observed in the AA-T1-LT resin (5.87). For mounted and cemented conditions, the greatest ΔE₀₀ values were found in the AA-C-T1-LT resin (1.74), and the ΔE₀₀ ranged from 0.75 (NT-OL) to 1.44 (AASIL-C-T1) for the HT resin (P<.001). The mounted and cemented specimens tended toward red and yellow, whereas lighter specimens were observed after cementation.

Aging affected the color of the RNCs evaluated. The single specimens showed greater color differences than the cemented specimens, reinforcing the importance of the adhesive cement in the optical behavior of thin restorations.