Background: The color of the titanium abutment can affect the color of the final restoration. Several methods, such as anodic oxidation which changes the gray color of implant abutment to yellow, attempted to mask the abutment's unaesthetic gray color.
Aim of the study: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of anodic oxidation of titanium on the shade of lithium disilicate ceramic.
Materials and Methods: Forty grade V titanium backgrounds (n=20) were fabricated and divided into two groups: group 1 was anodized to yellow color and group 2 was left untreated. Each group was subdivided into 2 subgroups (n=10) according to the thickness of the lithium disilicate cemented over it: subgroup A with 1 mm thick lithium disilicate and subgroup B with 2 mm thick lithium disilicate. Each titanium background was cemented to its corresponding lithium disilicate block using translucent resin cement. Color evaluation and differences (ΔE) were calculated for the specimens using a spectrophotometer.
Results: A significant difference was found between the color of the anodized and unanodized groups (p < 0.05). The mean values of the color difference of the anodized and unanodized groups were (6.84 ± 0.14) and (8.79 ± 0.52), respectively, at 1 mm and (2.38 ± 0.24) and (2.57 ± 0.09) at 2 mm thickness of lithium disilicate.
Conclusion: The anodization process of titanium has a positive effect on the color of the ceramic restoration, which can play an important role in obtaining an esthetic ceramic restoration over dental implants.