Effects of Cement Shade, Cementation, and Thermocycling on the Color Parameters and the Final Color of the SLA-Printed Photopolymer Resins †

Kaynak Öztürk E., YILMAZ BİÇER E., GÜNEY B., SAYGILI S., AKTAŞ N., BANKOĞLU GÜNGÖR M.

Polymers, cilt.17, sa.23, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 17 Sayı: 23
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3390/polym17233127
  • Dergi Adı: Polymers
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, INSPEC
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: 3D printing, color difference, color parameters, photopolymer resins, SLA
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study investigated the effects of resin cement shade and thermocycling on the color parameters and final appearance of SLA-printed photopolymer resins. Specimens with a thickness of 1 mm were fabricated and categorized into eight groups based on four different cement shades (universal-A2, clear, white, and opaque) and two applications (cementation and thermal aging). Differences in color parameters (ΔL*, Δa*, and Δb*) were measured after cement polymerization and thermocycling, and overall color differences (ΔE00-1 and ΔE00-2) were calculated. Two-way ANOVA revealed significant interactions between cement shade and thermocycling for ΔL*, Δa*, and Δb* (p < 0.05). After cementation, L* decreased for universal-A2, clear, and white cements, but increased for opaque cement. Furthermore, thermocycling altered L*, a*, and b* values differently among the experimental groups. Cement shade significantly influenced ΔE00, with universal-A2 and clear cements showing higher values than white and opaque cements (p < 0.05). All ΔE00 values exceeded the clinically acceptable limit (>1.8). The findings suggest that careful selection of the cement shade is therefore critical to achieving optimal esthetic outcomes with the tested 3D-printed resin. Formlabs SLA-printed permanent resin, although labeled as an A2 shade, behaves more like white or opaque shades, highlighting inconsistencies between labeled and actual color.