Influence of polishing instruments on the surface texture of resin composites.
OBJECTIVE
There is a need for an ideal polishing system for resin composite restorations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of polishing instruments on the surface texture of light-cured resin composites.


METHODS
Four polishing systems-Compomaster (Shofu), Silicone Points C Type (Shofu), Super-Snap (Shofu), and Enhance Finishing and Polishing System (Dentsply/DeTrey)-were used to polish the flat surface of cylindrical blocks made of 3 different resin composites: Beautifil (Shofu), Clearfil AP-X (Kuraray Medical), and Lite-Fil II A (Shofu). The average surface roughness (Ra) and surface gloss (Gs60 degrees) were determined. Scanning electron microscopic observations of the polished specimens were made. The polished samples were immersed in a 0.3% acid rhodamine B solution for 1 week, and change in color was determined.


RESULTS
The multiple-step systems, Enhance and Super-Snap, resulted in the best surface finishes. A new single-step point, Compomaster, ranked third in surface finish but was significantly better than the older point system, Silicone Points C. The color-staining experiments showed that there were no significant differences between the Compomaster system and the multiple-step systems, which were all significantly better than the older polishing point.


CONCLUSIONS
The newly introduced 1-step polishing point has the ability to polish resin composites as effectively as multistep polishing systems.
Watanabe
Tamayo
T
Department of Operative, Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Miyazaki
Masashi
M
Moore
B Keith
BK
D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D003188:Composite Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003775:Dental Polishing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry; D004867:Equipment Design; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012235:Rhodamines; D012408:Rubber / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry
C470433:Beautifil composite resin; C112828:Clearfil AP-X; D003188:Composite Resins; D003764:Dental Materials; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; C083468:Lite-fil CR; D008689:Methacrylates; D012235:Rhodamines; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate; D018130:Diamond; D012408:Rubber; D015040:Zirconium; C029773:rhodamine B; D000537:Aluminum Oxide