Experimental methodologies to evaluate the masking ability of dental materials: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a systematic review on the masking ability of discolored substrates, analyzing the capacity and quality of the response produced by the different methodologies and techniques applied to overcome this clinical challenge. Materials and methods:The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The electronic search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, without date restriction. In vitro studies, written in English, applying different methodologies to evaluate masking ability were included. The variables of interest were: type, color and thickness of the restorative and/or cement material; use of pigments in the restorative material and/or cement; color of the substrate; and background color used for the evaluations.Results: Database search retrieved 307 eligible papers with a final inclusion of 47 published papers. Approximately 98% of the studies used ΔE, 36% used TP, and only 6% used CR to evaluate the masking ability of restorative materials. Conclusions:The most appropriate methodology to evaluate the masking ability is using color difference equations (ΔE) associated with the perceptibility and acceptability thresholds.Clinical significance: As different methodologies have been used to evaluate the masking ability of esthetic restorative materials on colored substrates, there is an urgent need to reach a consensus and propose a method, which is suggested by the present systematic review.

Effect of CAD/CAM Ceramic Thickness on Shade Masking Ability of Discolored Teeth: In Vitro Study

“…Limited studies have assessed the clinical influence of dental ceramic thicknesses and composition on the masking ability and translucency of definitive prosthetic restorations [19,20]. Moreover, maintaining a proper balance between translucency and ceramic thickness is crucial especially in cases of dark discoloration of the underlying tooth structure or amalgam restorations [21]. Furthermore, thin ceramic restorations as dental veneers are favorable for several patients that seek high esthetic smile demand; however, their color properties are still sparse [22,23].…”

An engineering perspective of ceramics applied in dental reconstructions

“… 68 , 69 Another way to evaluate the aesthetic aspect is by the masking ability of the dental material, which can be defined as the color difference result (ΔE) between the core and the coating. 70 When this value equals zero, the background color is hidden by the outlying structure. A parameter that influences the masking ability is opalescence, which is one of the optical properties that displays the blueness of the reflected light spectrum and brownness-orangeness of the transmitted light spectrum.…”

Masking ability of resin composites: Effect of the layering strategy and substrate color

“…R T (rotation function) accounts for the interaction between chroma and hue differences in the blue terms for the conditions and illuminating influence. 9,16 In the present study, parametric factors were all set to 1 (…”

“…[6][7][8]15 The masking ability of resin composites has been currently evaluated by using the translucency parameter (TP), contrast ratio (CR), or application of color difference (ΔE) formulas. [16][17][18][19] A recent study 16 has shown that CIELAB and CIEDE2000 metrics associated with the perceptibility and acceptability thresholds are the most appropriate methodology for evaluating masking ability. Also, according to recent recommendations, International Commission on Illumination (CIE), 20 the CIEDE2000 metric should be used for color differences computation.…”