Fabrication of Esthetic Orthodontic Brackets in Different Shades

Objectives: Available commercial ceramic brackets are made of Alumina, either monocrystalline or polycrystalline; each comes in one shade, transparent or translucent, respectively. The aim of this study was to obtain esthetic brackets in different shades equivalent or comparable to natural tooth shades.
Methods: Yttria stabilized Zirconia (In-Ceram® YZ, Vita Zahnfabrik) and Alumina (In-Ceram® AL, Vita Zahnfabrik) Cerec blocks were prepared as slices which were immersed in specific concentrations of various salt solutions: Praseodymium, Iron, Cerium, Cobalt, Chromium, Nickel, Zinc, Neodymium, Erbium and Manganese. After sintering, the shade of each specimen was determined using VITA Easyshade Compact (VITA Zahnfabrik) and verified visually under color–corrected full spectrum light. Subsequently, Zirconia and Alumina brackets were fabricated using CAD/CAM system (Cerec inLab, Sirona) and then colored. Brackets were also fabricated from composite (ParadigmTM MZ100, 3M ESPE). Fabricated brackets were compared to commercial Inspire monocrystalline (Ormco) and Mystique polycrystalline (GAC) alumina brackets.
Results: Fabricated zirconia, alumina, and composite brackets had shades that closely matched VITA tooth shades, whereas commercial alumina brackets did not match tooth shades.
Conclusions: Zirconia and Alumina brackets can be produced in natural tooth shades using different cations at specific concentrations, which would enhance their esthetic appearance.