Alhanoof Aldegheishem^1,, Reem Aljubair², Halima Samara², Elzahraa Abd. Eldwakhly¹

Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the influence of ceramic thickness and type of luting agent on color variation of IPS empress press ceramic system. Methodology: Thirty ceramic specimens were prepared and divided according to thickness into 2 groups of 15 each (G1: 1mm, and G2: 2mm thick). Specimens were further subdivided according to the type of luting agent into 3 subgroups (5 each) and seated on a dark background of resin composite. Two resinous cements namely; Rely X (3M ESPE) and G-CEM LinkAce were used for 2 subgroups, whereas the third subgroup received no cement and served as a control (C1: 1mm thick, C2: 2mm thick). Evaluation of the variation of color parameters was determined using the spectrophotometer (Spectra). The evaluation of the color parameters was determined using the CIE Lab system of colors using a dental colorimeter. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the statistical analysis using SPSS version 21.0. Results: Spectra photometer was significantly affected by the ceramic thickness (P=0.000). Additionally, the use of the 2 mm thickness ceramic provoked the ΔE values. The highest mean ΔE was seen in control 2mm group (2.05). Whereas, the lowest ΔE was found in Control 1mm (0.65). The luting agent seems to have no effect on mean color difference (P=0.115). Conclusion: The color difference (ΔE) was significantly affected by different ceramic thickness (P=0.000), while the luting agent seems to have no influence on mean color difference. The color changes that determined are clinically acceptable.

Spectrophotometry, esthetics, IPS emax press, color, luting agents, ceramic thickness