Effect of external staining on the optical properties and surface roughness of monolithic zirconia of different thicknesses

Statement of problem. The effect of the number of external staining applications on the color, translucency, and surface roughness of monolithic zirconia is not known. Purpose. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of glazing and repeated external staining on the color, translucency, and surface roughness of 2 types of monolithic zirconia with 2 different thicknesses. Material and methods. Thirty-two 10x10-mm monolithic zirconia blocks, of which 16 were super high translucent and 16 were high translucent, were milled. The thickness of half the blocks was 0.7 mm, and the others were 1.2-mm thick. Four specimens in each subgroup were colored with value stain, and the other half with yellow stain. Staining was repeated twice for each specimen. The color and translucency of each specimen were measured before overglazing as the baseline, after overglazing, and after each staining process by using a spectrophotometer. The surface roughness (Ra) was measured after overglazing, the first staining, and the second staining. Data were analyzed by using repeated measures ANOVA and the independent t test (alpha=.05). Results. The number of coloring, type of coloring, and thickness changed the optical properties of monolithic zirconia. a*, b*, L* Value and Delta E were affected by the stage of firing (glazing, first staining, and second staining) (P<.001). Delta E Increased after the first and second staining in each type and thickness of monolithic zirconia and each type of stain. The amount of Delta E change was more for the first staining stage. The color difference (Delta E) after overglazing ranged from 3.08 to 3.75. The highest changes in color were related to the first staining with yellow colorant of super-high-translucent monolithic zirconia (cubeX(2)) with 0.7-mm thickness (Delta E=17.62). The surface roughness of the specimens was affected by the number of colorings (P<.001). In all groups, the first staining increased the surface roughness, and the second staining decreased the surface roughness. The type of monolithic zirconia (P=.756), thickness (P=.735), and type of stain (P=.239) had no significant effect on the surface roughness. Conclusions. The first stage of staining with both stains caused more color change in all types and thicknesses of monolithic zirconia. Translucency increased after glazing and decreased after the first and second staining. The first staining increased the surface roughness, and the second decreased the surface roughness.

Automated summary

The study found that the thickness, number of staining applications, and type of stain can affect the optical properties of monolithic zirconia, with the first staining causing more noticeable color changes and increased surface roughness, while the second staining decreased surface roughness.