Colour and translucency of opaque-shades and body-shades of resin composites

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the optical properties--not only the translucency but also the colours--of opaque-shade resin composites. The CIELAB parameters (L*, a* and b*) of disks of A2 and opaque A2 (OA2) shades of Charisma (Heraeus-Kulzer), Solare (GC) and Filtek Supreme (3M) were evaluated on backings of black, white and the material itself to calculate the translucency parameter (TP) and the colour differences (delta E*) between A2 and OA2. A two-way analysis of variance (anova) for the TP indicated a less statistically significant TP value in the OA2 shade than the A2 shade for all products. As for the products, Charisma showed a statistically greater TP value than the other two products. Regarding the delta E* between A2 and OA2, all the products revealed clinically perceptible colour differences (delta E* > 3.3). Hence, we must take the colour differences of opaque-shade resin composites into consideration, as well as the translucency of the materials, for a clinically acceptable colour match of the restoration.