Effect of chemical or mechanical finishing/polishing and immersion in staining solutions on the roughness, microhardness, and color stability of CAD-CAM monolithic ceramics.

During the manufacture of ceramic restorations there is an important step of finishing and polishing and the effects of different types of these procedures on the surface characteristics of ceramics are not known for sure.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of various surface treatments and immersion in coloring substances on the roughness, microhardness, and color stability of CAD-CAM monolithic ceramics.

Materials and method: The ceramics used were lithium disilicate reinforced with zirconium dioxide (Suprinity), lithium disilicate (E.max) or leucite (Empress). They were subjected to two surface treatments: glazing (group G) (n=20) or mechanical polishing (group P) (n=20). Then they were divided into two subgroups (n=10) to be treated with the staining substance (coffee or water). Roughness, microhardness and color were measured before and after treatment. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and multiple comparisons were performed with Tukey tests at 5% significance level.

Results: Roughness was lower in all tested ceramics after polishing than after glazing. Microhardness was the same for polished and glazed E.max, higher in glazed than polished Empress, and higher in polished than glazed Suprinity. Analysis of the effects of glazing and polishing on the individual ceramics showed that the ΔE2000 and ΔWID data of the E.max ceramic subjected to polishing showed greater change. Mechanical polishing is a good option for surface treatment of monolithic ceramics.

Conclusion: Glazing was inferior and less satisfactory than polishing. Glazing generates changes that can lead to color instability.