Effects of Hydrothermal Treatment on the Phase Transformation, Surface Roughness, and Mechanical Properties of Monolithic Translucent Zirconia

SUMMARY Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydrothermal treatment on four types of monolithic, translucent, yttria-stabilized, tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZPs). Methods and Materials: Two commercially available Y-TZP brands—SuperfectZir High Translucency (Aidite Technology Co, China) and Katana HT (Kuraray Noritake Dental, Japan) were assessed. For each brand of Y-TZP, materials of four coloring types, including noncolored (NC), colored by staining (CS), precolored (PC), and multilayered (ML) specimens were investigated after hydrothermal aging in an autoclave at 134°C/0.2 MPa for 0 (control group), 5, 10, and 20 hours. The tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation, surface roughness, flexural strength, and structural reliability (Weibull analysis) were measured and statistically analyzed (α=0.05). The subsurface microstructure was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. Results: The group ML exhibited the lowest flexural strength and Weibull characteristic strength among the four coloring types (p<0.05). Slight increases in the monoclinic phase volume, flexural strength, and Weibull characteristic strength were observed after hydrothermal aging (pall<0.05). Regardless of coloring type, no significant effects of aging on the Weibull modulus or surface roughness were found for the tested materials. Compared with the Katana HT cross-sections, the SuperfectZir High Translucency cross-sections exhibited a similar but thicker transformation zone. Conclusions: The coloring procedure and material type were found to affect the mechanical properties and aging resistance of translucent monolithic Y-TZP ceramics. Regardless of the aging time, the surface roughness of the tested Y-TZP ceramics remained unchanged.

Surface Roughness and Translucency of Various Translucent Zirconia Ceramics after Hydrothermal Aging

Objective This study investigated the effect of hydrothermal aging on surface roughness and translucency of various translucent zirconia materials. Materials and Methods Four types of zirconia were tested. Group 1 was translucent zirconia with no cubic structure. Group 2, 3, and 4 included cubic-containing zirconia with different amounts of cubic structures (less than 30%, 30–50%, and more than 50%, respectively). Each group contained 15 disk-shape specimens with dimensions of 15 mm in diameter and 1 mm in thickness. As-sintered surface roughness, translucency parameter, and contrast ratio were evaluated in the two different sessions, before and after aging. Statistical Analysis Two-way repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni test was used to analyze statistically significant difference in those tested parameters. Phase structure before and after aging was analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Results Groups 1 and 2 showed significant increased surface roughness after aging while groups 3 and 4 showed no alteration of surface. There was no effect of aging on translucency in all groups. After aging, group 1 and 2 presented monoclinic structure (16.63 and 5.01%, respectively). Conclusion Hydrothermal aging caused phase transformation and increasing surface roughness in group 1 and 2 but did not affect translucency in all groups.

Effect of Veneering and Hydrothermal Aging on the Translucency of Newly Introduced Extra Translucent and High Translucent Zirconia with Different Thicknesses

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of veneering and aging on the translucency of newly introduced extra and high translucent zirconia with different thickness. Materials and Methods. One hundred forty disk-shaped specimens were fabricated from two translucent zirconia blocks (VITA YZ XT and VITA YZ HT), and they are milled with CAD/CAM system. Then, specimens were divided into nonveneered (XT, HT) and veneered groups (XTV, HTV). Nonveneered groups were prepared with four different thicknesses (0.5-1-1.5-2 mm). Veneered groups were divided into three subgroups ( n = 10 ) for veneering with base dentin ceramic with thicknesses of 0.5 + 0.5 , 0.5 + 1 , and 0.5 + 1.5 mm . A spectrophotometer was used to calculate the translucency parameter (TP) and contrast ratio (CR) of all specimens before and after aging. Statistical analysis was performed using 3-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests ( p < 0.05 ). Results. TP values were significantly affected by thickness of specimens ( p < 0.001 ). VITA YZ XT was significantly found more translucent than VITA YZ HT. The highest translucency was observed in the XT-0.5 mm group. There is no significant difference between translucency of the veneered and nonveneered groups in the same thickness for XT. On the contrary, veneering significantly affected translucency of HT. TP values significantly decreased after aging for all groups. After aging, translucency value difference before and after aging was the highest in the XT-0.5 mm group whereas the HTV-2 mm group showed the lowest difference after aging. TP decreased significantly as thickness of specimen increases regardless of the material type. Extra translucent and nonveneered zirconia groups are more prone to hydrothermal aging. Conclusions. The translucency parameter of zirconia ceramics was significantly influenced by both material type and veneering. Also, extra translucent and nonveneered zirconia groups are more susceptible to hydrothermal aging.