Background: Lithium disilicate ceramic has received tremendous popularity in dentistry, especially in the fabrication of laminate veneers. However, adequate surface treatmentis seminal to the overall longevity of the laminate veneers. The most commonly employed surface altering methods are alumina abrasion and hydrofluoric acid etching. Hence, the purpose of this study was to gauge the alterations in the mechanical properties of lithium disilicate ceramic upon alumina air abrasion, hydrofluoric acid etching and a combination of both.

Materials and Methodology: Circular specimens measuring 15mm diameter by 2 mm thickness were fabricated with lithium disilicate ceramic. Further, divided into four groups based on the employed surface treatment upon the specimens. Microtopography of the specimens were visualized under scanning electron microscope. Surface roughness and biaxial flexural strength were determined using a profilometer and universal testing machine respectively.

Results: Microphotographs revealed surface alterations post treatment.The data were analyzed using one–way ANOVA and tukey’s test (p–value<0.05). A significant deterioration in the biaxial flexural strength and enhanced surface roughness was identified with all the surface treatments.

Conclusions:HF etching produced optimum surface roughness with least reduction in flexural strength.Clinically, 5%HF etching for 20 seconds can be recommended as a surface treatment of choice for ceramic laminates.