Esthetic comparison between ceramic systems on darkened substrate

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this work was to evaluate visually the possible influence of a darkened substrate on the aesthetic result of crowns with infiltrations of lithium disilicate or zirconia. Methodology: The design was observational, transversal and descriptive. For the experiment, a patient with total crowns at 11 and 21 was selected, where one of the two elements should be darkened. A crown of lithium disilicate was made on the substrate without color change. For the darkened element, a crown of lithium disilicate and one of zirconia were created, creating two clinical situations. Without knowing which material was used, the evaluators answered a questionnaire that compared the aesthetic result of the lithium disilicate or zirconia crowns with the lithium disilicate crown on the normal substrate, as well as the two clinical situations. A total of 20 dental surgeons participated as evaluators. The evaluators judged the restorations to be excellent, acceptable or unacceptable, and afterwards a descriptive analysis of the evaluations was performed. Results: The results showed that there was aesthetic difference between the restorations of lithium disilicate and zirconia, and the lithium disilicate could not block the color of the substrate, even though an opaque ingot (MO) was used. Conclusion: It was concluded that in cases of darkened substrate, an infrastructure with sufficient opacity, such as zirconia, with visually perceptible and unacceptable differences, if a translucent material such as lithium disilicate is used.