Purpose: To measure the durability of the color, change in surface roughness and gloss of stained monolithic ceramic materials subjected to artificial tooth brush abrasion.
Materials and methods: Standardized specimens were manufactured from pressable lithium-disilicate glass ceramic (PC; IPS e.max Press), machinable lithium-disilicate glass ceramic (MC; IPS e.max CAD), and zirconia (ZR; Zenostar). Ceramic staining was applied before (internal; in) and after crystallization/sintering (external; ex). Of each ceramic material, specimens without staining were prepared (no staining; no). Porcelain-fused-to-metal specimens served as control (PFM). Each group consisted of 15 specimens. Tooth brushing was simulated with tooth brushing strokes of 21.6 k, 43.2 k, and 64.8 k. Color, gloss and roughness were measured at baseline and after cycle intervals. Kruskal-Wallis and paired Post-hoc Conover tests were applied to detect statistical differences between treatment groups. Differences before and after aging were calculated by Wilcoxon signed rank test (α=0.05).
Results: In all groups, color difference (∆E) was statistically significant after aging: no-PC (P<.001, 95% CI[0.14,0.84]), no-MC (P=.003, 95% CI[0.23,1.12]), no-ZR (P=.003, 95% CI[0.33,0.62]), in-MC (P=.003, 95% CI[0.35,0.73]), in-ZR (P=.003, 95% CI[0.09,0.32]), ex-PC (P=.003, 95% CI[0.54,0.98]), ex-MC (P<.001, 95% CI[0.23,1.26]), ex-ZR (P=.003, 95% CI[0.27,0.55]), and PFM (P=.002, 95% CI[0.22,0.34]). Aging increased surface roughness and decreased the gloss within all subgroups showing statistical significance.
Conclusion: Color, gloss and roughness of stained monolithic ceramic materials changed significantly by means of tooth brush abrasion in vitro. Color changes were below the threshold value for the detection by the human eye (∆E 1.8).
Keywords: Ceramic; Color; Gloss; Monolithic; Roughness.