[Short-term observation of gold-plating unprecious metal ceramic crown in restoring anterior tooth].
PURPOSE: To evaluate the short-term effect of gold-plating technique used in Ni-Cr metal ceramic crown in restoring anterior teeth. METHODS: 64 teeth from 38 cases were divided into two groups. Each group consisted of 32 teeth. All the teeth were restored with Ni-Cr metal ceramic crown. The restorations in group 1 had no treatment while those in group 2 were treated with gold-plating technique in the base metal alloy.Gingiva discoloration, bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index (PLI) and sulcular bleeding index (SBI) were examined 1 and 12 months after restoration. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Gingiva discoloration was found in both groups after bonding. According to the percentage of gingival discoloration, there was no significant difference between group 1 and group 2 (12.5% vs 28.1%) (P>0.05). However, 12 months later, significant difference was found between the two groups (15.6% vs 37.5%)(P<0.05). According to PLI, BOP and SBI, there was no statistical difference between two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Gold-plating was a good method in solving the problem of gingival discoloration in unprecious metal ceramic crown.