Comparison of the optical properties of pre-colored dental monolithic zirconia ceramics sintered in a conventional furnace versus a microwave oven

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the optical properties of pre-colored dental monolithic zirconia ceramics of various thicknesses sintered in a microwave and those in a conventional furnace. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ) was estimated with x-ray diffraction. The surface topography was analyzed by atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope. Statistical analyses were conducted with two-way ANOVA (α=.05). RESULTS: values ranged from 7.03% to 9.89% for conventional sintering, and from 7.31% to 9.17% for microwave sintering. The microwave-sintered specimen demonstrated a smoother surface and a more uniform grain structure compared to the conventionally-sintered specimen. CONCLUSION: With reduced processing time, microwave-sintered pre-colored dental monolithic zirconia ceramics can exhibit similar color perception and translucency to those by conventional sintering.