ABSTRACT
Aim: The goal of this study was to evaluate the translucency of two materials of monolithic zirconia sintered using two different sintering protocols.
Materials and Methods: Forty disc samples (10 mm diameter x 1mm thickness) were designed and milled from two brands of monolithic zirconia blanks, Katana STML and Cercon xt ML (n=20 each). Dry milling protocol using (inLab MC X5, DentsplySirona ) was followed to prepare the samples. Katana STML samples were then divided into two groups regarding sintering protocols(n=10 each); Group (I): samples sintered by traditional sintering protocol (1550°C, 120 min dwelling time and 7 hours total time), Group (II): high speed sintering (1560°C, 30 min dwelling time and 90 min total time). Cercon xt ML samples were also divided into two groups regarding sintering protocols(n=10 each); Group (III): Traditional sintering cycle (1520°C, 90 min dwelling time and 270 min total time), Group(IV): high speed sintering (1540°C, 15 min dwelling time and 1 hour total time). Translucency parameter (TP) was then evaluated using a spectrophotometer. The collected data underwent statistical analysis to draw meaningful insights and conclusions.
Results: Traditional speed revealed statistically significant higher (TP) mean values compared to high speed. A highly significant difference in (TP) mean values between Katana and Cercon materials as Cercon showed the higher mean values.