Maram Fahad Almasri

Background/Objectives: To compare the effects of different surface treatments on the color and translucency of three types of zirconia ceramics. Methods: Ninety CAD/CAM-milled zirconia disks (10 mm diameter, 1 mm thickness) were fabricated from Cercon HT (3-YTZP), IPS e.max ZirCAD MT (4-YTZP), and Cercon XT (5-YTZP). Baseline CIE Lab* coordinates were measured using a digital spectrophotometer. The disks underwent one of three surface treatments: 50 µm alumina air-particle abrasion (AAA), Zircos-E etching (ZE), or 100 µm glass bead air-particle abrasion (GBA). Post-treatment CIE Lab* measurements were obtained, and color change (ΔE₀₀, CIEDE2000) and translucency change (ΔTP₀₀) were calculated. Results: Regarding color change (ΔE₀₀), 50 µm AAA produced the greatest change, followed by ZE, while GBA caused the smallest change. Surface treatment and its interaction with material type were found to exert a significant effect, whereas material type alone was not significant. Cercon XT showed the highest numerical ΔE₀₀ value among the materials, although the difference was not statistically significant. All ΔE₀₀ values were below the clinical acceptability threshold (00) after surface treatment. Baseline translucency values (TP₀₀) differed significantly, with Cercon XT being the most translucent, followed by ZirCAD MT and Cercon HT, but these differences did not result in significant ΔTP₀₀ changes post treatment. Conclusions: Surface treatments and their interaction with material type significantly affected zirconia color change, with 50 µm alumina air-particle abrasion producing the most pronounced effect. Material type alone did not significantly influence ΔE₀₀, though Cercon XT showed the highest numerical value. Translucency change (ΔTP₀₀) after treatment was unaffected by surface treatment or material–treatment interaction.