TiO nanotubes incorporated into a glaze-coating ceramic: surface roughness, color, and antibiofilm activity.

This study evaluated the surface roughness, color change, and antibacterial effect of a ceramic glaze enhanced with TiO nanotubes (n-TiO). n-TiO (0, 2, 2.5, and 5 wt%) was added to a ceramic glaze powder, applied to the surface of forty feldspathic ceramic specimens, and sintered. The surface roughness average (Ra) before glaze application (T0) and after glaze crystallization (T1) was measured using a profilometer. The colorimetric alteration was determined by CIEDE2000 (ΔE) and CIELab (ΔEab), and the whiteness index for dentistry (ΔW). The antibacterial effect against S. mutans and S. sanguinis was evaluated (CFU/mL). Data were analyzed by two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, followed by the Bonferroni test (α = 0.05). No differences in ΔE and ΔE were observed among groups (p > 0.05), and ΔW was only affected by 5% n-TiO. All groups surpassed the perception thresholds of 1.8 (ΔE) and 2.3 (ΔE). At T0, no Ra differences were detected among groups (p > 0.05). In T1, Ra decreased (p < 005) compared to T0, but 5% n-TiO increased roughness compared to the control group (without n-TiO). The incorporation of n-TiO into the glaze powder did not impair bacteria adhesion, and no differences in biofilm formation were found among the concentrations (p < 0.05). The ceramic covered with a glaze containing 5% n-TiO caused minimal interference in the color and roughness with no effect on biofilm formation.