PURPOSE: Maxillofacial silicone elastomer is usually colored intrinsically with color pigments to match skin colors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the color stability of a maxillofacial silicone elastomer, colored with a thermochromic, color changing pigment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Disc-shaped maxillofacial silicone specimens were prepared and divided into 3 groups: a conventionally colored control group, one group additionally colored with 0.2 wt% thermochromic pigment , and one group with 0.6 wt% thermochromic pigment. Half of the surface of each specimen was covered with an aluminium foil. All of the specimens were exposed to UV radiation in 6 hour cycles over 46 days. In between the UV exposures, half of the specimens were stored in darkness, at room temperature, and the other half was stored in an incubator, at a humidity of 97% and a temperature of +37degrees C. Color measurements were made with a spectrophotometer and registered according to the CIELAB L*a*b* color model system. The changes in L*, a* and b* values during artificial aging were statistically analyzed by using paired samples t-test and repeated measures ANOVA. P-values <.05 were considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The UV exposure resulted in visually noticeable and statistically significant color changes in the L*, a* and b* values in both of the test groups containing thermochromic pigment. Storage in the incubator lead to statistically significant color changes in the a* and b* values of the specimens containing thermochromic pigment, compared to those stored at room temperature. CONCLUSION: The specimens containing thermochromic pigment were very sensitive to UV radiation, and the thermochromic pigment is not suitable, as such, to be used in maxillofacial prostheses.
Aging ; Darkness ; Humidity ; Incubators ; Maxillofacial Prosthesis ; Silicone Elastomers ; Skin

This study evaluated the adhesion of zirconia core ceramics with their corresponding veneering ceramics, having different thermal expansion coefficients (TECs), when zirconia ceramics were coloured at green stage. Zirconia blocks (N=240; 6 mm×7 mm×7 mm) were manufactured from two materials namely, ICE Zirconia (Group 1) and Prettau Zirconia (Group 2). In their green stage, they were randomly divided into two groups. Half of the specimens were coloured with colouring liquid (shade A2). Three different veneering ceramics with different TEC (ICE Ceramic, GC Initial Zr and IPS e.max Ceram) were fired on both coloured and non-coloured zirconia cores. Specimens of high noble alloys (Esteticor Plus) veneered with ceramic (VM 13) (n=16) acted as the control group. Core-veneer interface of the specimens were subjected to shear force in the Universal Testing Machine (0.5 mm⋅min(-1)). Neither the zirconia core material (P=0.318) nor colouring (P=0.188) significantly affected the results (three-way analysis of variance, Tukey's test). But the results were significantly affected by the veneering ceramic (P=0.000). Control group exhibited significantly higher mean bond strength values (45.7±8) MPa than all other tested groups ((27.1±4.1)-(39.7±4.7) and (27.4±5.6)-(35.9±4.7) MPa with and without colouring, respectively) (P<0.001). While in zirconia-veneer test groups, predominantly mixed type of failures were observed with the veneering ceramic covering <1/3 of the substrate surface, in the metal-ceramic group, veneering ceramic was left adhered >1/3 of the metal surface. Colouring zirconia did not impair adhesion of veneering ceramic, but veneering ceramic had a significant influence on the core-veneer adhesion. Metal-ceramic adhesion was more reliable than all zirconia-veneer ceramics tested.
Adhesiveness ; Ceramics ; chemistry ; Color ; Dental Bonding ; Dental Materials ; chemistry ; Dental Porcelain ; chemistry ; Dental Stress Analysis ; instrumentation ; Dental Veneers ; Gold Alloys ; chemistry ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Metal Ceramic Alloys ; chemistry ; Prosthesis Coloring ; Stress, Mechanical ; Surface Properties ; Thermodynamics ; Yttrium ; chemistry ; Zirconium ; chemistry

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to derive and compare the inherent color (hue angle, chroma), translucency (TP(SCI)), surface gloss (ΔE* SCE-SCI), and surface roughness (Ra) amongst selected shades and brands of three hybrid CAD/CAM blocks [GC Cerasmart (CS); Lava Ultimate (LU); Vita Enamic (VE)]. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The specimens (N = 225) were prepared into square-shaped (12 × 12 mm2) with different thicknesses and shades. The measurements of color, translucency, and surface gloss were performed by a reflection spectrophotometer. The surface roughness and surface topography were assessed by white light interferometry. RESULTS: Results revealed that hue and chroma values were influenced by the material type, material shade, and material thickness (P < .001). The order of hue angle amongst the materials was LU > CS > VE, whereas the order of chroma was VE > CS > LU. TP(SCI) results demonstrated a significant difference in terms of material types and material thicknesses (P ≤ .001). TP(SCI) values of the tested materials were ordered as LU > CS > VE. ΔE* SCE-SCI and Ra results were significantly varied amongst the materials (P < .001) and amongst the shades (P < .05). The order of ΔE* SCE-SCI amongst the materials were as follows LU > VE ≥ CS, whereas the order of Ra was CS ≥ VE > LU. CONCLUSION: Nano-ceramic and polymer-infiltrated-feldspathic ceramic-network CAD/CAM materials exhibited different optical, inherent color and surface parameters.
Interferometry