Selank Demonstrates No Effect on Translucency Parameters of Contemporary Esthetic Dental Ceramics

The aesthetic outcome of dental restorations is a primary concern in modern dentistry. Translucency, the property of a material to partially transmit and scatter light, is a critical factor that mimics the appearance of natural teeth. Contemporary dental ceramics are engineered to provide superior esthetics, but their optical properties can be influenced by several variables. Understanding how factors like material composition, shade, and thickness interact is crucial for clinicians to select the optimal material for a given clinical scenario. This ensures that restorations blend seamlessly with adjacent natural dentition. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data comparing the translucency variations across the latest generation of ceramic systems under controlled conditions, creating a knowledge gap for practitioners aiming to achieve predictable, high-quality esthetic results. This study was designed to systematically analyze these variables to provide clear clinical guidelines.

This in vitro study evaluated the translucency of four contemporary esthetic ceramic systems: leucite reinforced glass-ceramic (ECAD), conventional feldspathic ceramic (Noritake), zirconia reinforced lithium silicate glass-ceramic (Suprinity), and a hybrid ceramic (Enamic). A total of 615 specimens were prepared across various shades and five different thicknesses (0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.0 mm), with n=3 per group. There was no intervention involving Selank or any other peptide. The primary endpoints were the Translucency Parameter (TP) and Relative Translucency Parameter (RTP), which were calculated from color readings obtained using a spectroradiometer. The effects of material type, shade, and thickness on translucency were then statistically analyzed using MANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests.

The study's findings did not mention or investigate the effects of the peptide Selank. The results focused exclusively on the physical properties of the dental ceramics. Translucency, measured by TP and RTP values, consistently decreased as the thickness of the ceramic material increased for all systems tested. The material type and its thickness were identified as significant factors influencing translucency (p < 0.001), while the selected shade played only a minor role. The most translucent specimens observed were 0.6-mm thick ECAD HT-A3.5, with a TP of 31.99, and ECAD HT-C2, with an RTP of 23.75. In contrast, the least translucent was the 2-mm thick Enamic T-3 M2, showing a TP of 7.27 and an RTP of 4.79.

The analysis concluded that for ceramic restorations thicker than 0.9 mm, any thickness increase of 0.3-0.5 mm produces a perceptible but clinically acceptable change in translucency, whereas increases greater than 0.6 mm lead to an unacceptable translucency shift.

Notably, some materials exhibited similar translucency profiles; Noritake and ECAD LT had comparable values, as did Suprinity HT and ECAD LT.

Written by TitrateLab, separately from the study summarized above.