A Comparative Evaluation of the surface roughness of two glazed, unglazed and polished ceramic materials

Background: Dental Ceramics have played a pivotal role in dentistry over the past 150 years because of their excellent biocompatibility, light absorption and low thermal conductivity .In spite of their advantages and advances in material over the last few years, Ceramic still have drawbacks like poor marginal fit, low tensile strength, difficulty in polishing and excessive wear of opposing teeth. Material & Methods: Glazed porcelain is the restorative material that encourages least plaque accumulation and also allows for plaque to be easily removed. Glazed porcelain can also duplicate natural tooth surface lustre, characterization while it is generally agreed that glazed ceramic provides the optimum surface finish. Observations & Results: After applying Student’s‘t’ test, there was seen a highly significant difference between mean values of Unglazed and Polished ceramic materials in In-Cream and IPS Empress group (i.e. p<0.01). while there was found no significant difference between mean values of Glazed ceramic material in In-Cream and IPS Empress Group (i.e. p>0.05) Conclusion: From the present study, we may conclude that, Regardless of the type of ceramic tested (IPS Empress or In-Ceram Alumina/ Vitadur Alpha) or pretreatment, any adjusted ceramic restoration should be reglazed or subjected to a finishing sequence that is followed through to a final stage of polishing with diamond paste and Unglazed IPS Empress 2 is rougher than unglazed In-Ceram Alumina/Vitadur Alpha.