Thickness dependence of light transmittance, translucency and opalescence of a ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite for dental applications

• We investigated thickness dependence of optical properties of a Ce-TZP/Al2O3 nanocomposite.
• A spectrophotometer was used to collect spectral transmittance data.
• The Ce-TZP/Al2O3 nanocomposite showed substantially low light transmittance.
• Translucency parameter decreased exponentially with sample thickness.
• High opalescence was observed when the sample thickness was nearly 0.3 mm.

ObjectivesThis study was conducted to investigate thickness dependence of light transmittance, translucency and opalescence of a commercially available fully-sintered ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite for dental all-ceramic restorations.MethodsThree disk samples of 16 mm in diameter and thickness ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 mm with 0.1 mm increment each were cut from a fully-sintered rod-shaped Ce-TZP/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR, Panasonic Healthcare, Japan) and polished flat by using diamond slurry. Spectral light transmittance data under the CIE standard illuminant D65 were recorded at 10 nm intervals from 360 to 740 nm using a computer-controlled spectrophotometer. Average transmittance, translucency and opalescence parameters were determined as a function of sample thickness. Optical properties of a fully-sintered yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Cercon® base, DeguDent GmbH, Germany) were also investigated as a reference. Two-way ANOVA was performed to determine the significant differences in various optical parameters among types of ceramic and thicknesses at α = 0.05.ResultsResults of the two-way ANOVA showed that the average transmittance, translucency and opalescence parameters of both ceramic materials were significantly influenced by the type of ceramic and thickness (p < 0.001). Light transmittance of the NANOZR was significantly lower than that of the Cercon® base. For both ceramic materials, average transmittance of light and translucency parameter decreased with sample thickness following exponential functions. The NANOZR showed substantially higher opalescence parameters exceeding 20 CIE units when the sample thickness was nearly 0.3 mm. The prominent characteristics of high opalescence and low transmittance of light in the NANOZR was considered to be caused by its specific very fine interpenetrated intragranular microstructure and by a large difference of refractive indices of Ce-TZP and alumina components.SignificanceHigh opalescence and low transmittance of light of the ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR) are attractive properties for use as a substructure in fabricating porcelain-veneering-type esthetic all-ceramic restorations.