Impact of Oxygen Plasma Treatment and Resin Cement on the Esthetic Outcomes of High-Translucency Monolithic Zirconia.

PURPOSE: Oxygen plasma treatment improves retention compared with no surface treatment of titanium; however, evidence on its esthetic effects after treatment is lacking. This study investigated the effects of oxygen plasma treatment and clear resin cement type on color differences (ΔE) in high-translucency monolithic zirconia (HTMZ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 1.0-mm-thick A2-shade HTMZ specimen group (n = 7) was evaluated using two types of clear resin cement (n = 7 each) in combination with six Ti groups (n = 7 each): non-surface-treated Ti (T), anodized Ti (A), polished Ti (P), polished Ti followed by Oxygen plasma treatment (PX), polished Ti followed by anodization (PA), and polished and anodized Ti followed by Oxygen plasma treatment (PAX). The ΔE1, ΔE2, and ΔE3 values were calculated to test the first, second, and third hypotheses, respectively. ΔE1 represented the color difference between Zir + Ti and Zir + A2D-shade composite resin, ΔE2 represented the color difference between Zir + cement + Ti and Zir + cement + A2D-shade composite resin, and ΔE3 represented the color difference between Zir + cement + Ti and Zir + Ti. All specimens were measured using a spectrophotometer, and the ΔE values were calculated relative to the corresponding control group. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using ANOVA followed by post hoc tests (P = .05). RESULTS: All parameters significantly influenced ΔE (P < .05). Oxygen plasma treatment did not influence baseline color differences (ΔE1). However, the interaction between oxygen plasma treatment and cement type significantly affected post-cementation color changes (ΔE2 and ΔE3). The use of clear resin cement marginally reduced the color difference values across all titanium groups. All ΔE1 and ΔE2 values exceeded the clinically acceptable threshold (ΔE > 1.8), whereas all ΔE3 values remained below the perceptibility threshold (ΔE < 0.8). CONCLUSION: Oxygen plasma treatment did not alter ΔE, and both clear resin cement types had negligible effects that remained below the perceptibility threshold across all titanium substrates.