Color perceptibility and validity of silicon carbide-based protective coatings for dental ceramics

Chaker Fares; Randy Elhassani; Fan Ren; Alexandra R Cabrera; Ingrid Chai; Dan Neal; Shu-Min Hsu; Josephine F Esquivel-Upshaw

doi:10.1016/j.prosdent.2020.10.023

Color perceptibility and validity of silicon carbide-based protective coatings for dental ceramics

J Prosthet Dent. 2022 Jun;127(6):918-924. doi: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2020.10.023. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Authors

Chaker Fares¹, Randy Elhassani², Fan Ren³, Alexandra R Cabrera⁴, Ingrid Chai⁵, Dan Neal⁶, Shu-Min Hsu⁷, Josephine F Esquivel-Upshaw⁸

Affiliations

¹ Graduate student, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida College of Engineering, Gainesville, Fla.
² Undergraduate student, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida College of Engineering, Gainesville, Fla.
³ Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida College of Engineering, Gainesville, Fla.
⁴ Dental student, Division of Prosthodontics, Restorative Dental Sciences, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, Fla.
⁵ Undergraduate student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
⁶ Statistician, Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla.
⁷ Research Associate, Division of Prosthodontics, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, Fla.
⁸ Professor, Division of Prosthodontics, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, Fla. Electronic address: jesquivel@dental.ufl.edu.

PMID: 33483139
DOI: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2020.10.023

Abstract

Statement of problem: A silicon carbide (SiC) protective coating has been developed for dental ceramics, but whether the coated ceramics can match the classical VITA shades is unclear.

Purpose: The purpose of this observational in vitro study was to evaluate the color adaptability of SiC-coated dental ceramics by testing the hypotheses that SiC-coated disks can be fabricated to match standard tooth shades and have a perceptible color match rate of at least 50% for disks with a color difference (ΔE)<2.0. The effects of ΔE, shade hue, shade value, observer sex, years of experience, profession, and shade guide orientation on color perception were studied.

Material and methods: SiC-coated disks were fabricated to color match (ΔE_ab<3.3) all 16 VITA classical shades. Uncoated disks of each VITA shade were used as the reference materials to determine whether the SiC-coated disks were color matched to the classical VITA shade guide. Three ΔE formulas (76, 94, and 2000) were applied and compared. Participants (N=120) with an average of 22 years of experience included dental school students, dental faculty members, and dental assistants. Pseudoisochromatic plate and the Farnsworth D-15 Panel test for assessing color deficiency and color blindness were administered. Participants then attempted to match SiC-coated disks to standard shade guides arranged by value or hue. All spectrophotometer readings and color matching were conducted in a light booth with standardized daylight illumination. Statistical analysis used the Fisher's exact test to determine factors associated with improved matching performance (α=.05).

Results: A significant difference in color match rate was found between disks with ΔE<2.0 (63.9%) and ΔE≥2.0 (41.7%) (P<.001). Arranging shade by value (72.2%) instead of hue (67.2%) produced better color matching (P<.001). Sex (P=.430), profession (P=.708), and years of experience (P=.902) had no significant influence on color matching.

Conclusions: SiC-coated disks were successfully fabricated to match all VITA classical shades, and clinical visual color matching results confirmed that ΔE was a useful metric in optimizing color matching for the SiC-coated dental ceramics.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Carbon Compounds, Inorganic
Ceramics / therapeutic use
Color
Color Perception
Dental Prosthesis Design*
Humans
Prosthesis Coloring*
Silicon Compounds

Substances

Carbon Compounds, Inorganic
Silicon Compounds
silicon carbide