Abstract
Tooth bleaching and laminate veneer restoration methods are widely used in cosmetic dentistry. However,
despite their aesthetic appeal, these methods damage tooth enamel, which cannot regenerate, and the adhesive
used with laminate veneers can cause an allergic reaction. We are attempting to develop a novel esthetic dentistry
sheet that would be applicable to both enamel restoration and cosmetic dentistry. An amorphous calcium
phosphate (ACP) sheet was fabricated from low density hydroxyapatite (HAp) using a pulsed laser deposition
method. The whiteness level of the sheet increased, as judged from the increase in the number of particles on
the sheet surface. The HAp sheet was crystallized using a post-annealing process, and this also increased the
whiteness of the sheet compared to an ACP sheet for the growth of a grain boundary introduced into the sheet
by crystallization. A change in whiteness of the opaque white sheets according to the Commission Internationale
de l’Eclairage (WICIE) masked the discoloration of a human avulsed tooth, as measured using a spectrum colorimeter.
The whiteness values increased and the yellow values decreased as the number of overlapping sheets
increased, demonstrating that the aesthetic effects of opaque white HAp sheets are very promising in cosmetic
dentistry.
