RESUMEN
Background: Although, the influence of cement and background shade on the final color and translucency of zirconia reinforced lithium silicate (ZLS) and lithium disilicate (LDS) ceramics has been previously investigated, there is still little data on the translucency of LDS and ZLS ceramics in decreased thickness (0.4 and 0.6 mm). The aim of this study was to investigate ceramic thickness', background and cement shades' effects on the zirconia reinforced lithium silicate (ZLS) and lithium disilicate (LDS) ceramics' translucency. Material and Methods: Totally 160 square-shaped A1 shade LDS and ZLS samples produced in 0.4 and 0.6 mm thicknesses were cemented with light and neutral shade resin cement on A2 and A3 shade composite resin backgrounds. The color notations of specimen were measured and translucency parameter (TP) values were calculated. Factorial ANOVA and Tamhane's T2 multiple comparison statistical analyzes were used. Results: Highest TP values (11.82±0.97) were obtained in ZLS specimens that were 0.4 mm in thickness, cemented on A2 background with light shade resin cement. While, the lowest TP values (9.60±0.55) were calculated in LDS samples that had 0.6 mm thickness, cemented on A3 background with neutral shade resin cement. Conclusions: Material type, thickness, and background shade affected TP values of specimens. The cement and background shade used might change the final translucency of ZLS and LDS ceramics that had 0.4 and 0.6 mm thickness. Key words:Ceramics, lithium disilicate, spectrophotometry, zirconia, dental materials.