Purpose: To investigate the influence of immediate dentin sealing (IDS) vs delayed dentin sealing (DDS) on the marginal gaps of machinable monolithic zirconia (MMZ) vs pressable lithium disilicate (PLD) laminate veneers.
Materials and methods: A total of 40 maxillary lateral incisors were used and received butt-joint laminate veneer preparation. The samples were divided into two groups (n = 20 each) according to ceramic material: PLD ceramic was used in the first group, and MMZ was used in the second. Each group was then divided into two subgroups according to the bonding protocol: IDS was employed in one, and DDS in the other (n = 10 each). The marginal gap widths were measured using digital microscopy and statistically analyzed.
Results: The smallest marginal gaps were observed in MMZ-DDS (57.2 ± 8.4 μm), followed by PLD-DDS (62.4 ± 2.7 μm) and MMZ-IDS (63.5 ± 1.9 μm). The largest marginal gaps were observed in PLD-IDS (81.5 ± 6.3 μm). Two-way ANOVA revealed that the bonding technique (P < .001) and ceramic material (P < .001) both showed significant differences.
Conclusions: MMZ produced beIer marginal accuracy than PLD. IDS seems to have a predisposition to significantly wider marginal gaps than DDS, but these gaps are within the clinically acceptable range. The marginal accuracy of ceramic veneers appears to be related to the bonding technique as well as the material of construction.