Waviness of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) prepared surfaces.
BACKGROUND
The wave (W) element offers a surface topography assessment method with the potential to yield unique data.


OBJECTIVE
This study uses glass ionomer cement specimens prepared with six Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) surface treatments to explore arc- and line-modified waviness of these surfaces to determine if they gave similar results.


METHODS
Six specimens (5 x 1.5mm) were prepared for each of the six surface treatments: (1) surface compressed with a Vaseline lubricated finger (Va); (2) Va followed by carving with an excavator(Ca); (3) Ca burnished with a ball burnisher (Bu); (4) surface compressed with the gloved finger lubricated with poly-acrylic acid (Aa); (5) surface cured against a Mylar strip (My); (6) My polished with a white rubber sulcus wheel (Po). After storage in distilled water for seven days at 37 degrees C W(a), W(v), W(p), W(t) was analysed using arc- and line-modifications of the raw profile. The data were analysed using a General Linear Models analysis and Tukey's Studentised range test with P < 0.05.


RESULTS
Ca and Bu; Va and Aa; and My and Po formed three groups with descending ranking order for W whether arc- or line-modified. Arc-modified tracing data was unable to statistically distinguish between surface treatments whereas line-modification showed significant differences between treatments for all parameters measured (W(a), W(v0, W(p), W(t)).


CONCLUSIONS
Line-modified waviness data was better able to distinguish between surface treatments than arc-modification. Wave offers unique surface topography data having potential value to dental materials researchers.
Grossman
E S
ES
Dental Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. elly.grossman@wits.ac.za
Rosen
M
M
Mickenautsch
S
S
Cleaton-Jones
P E
PE
D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003775:Dental Polishing / Q000379:methods*; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
D000180:Acrylic Resins; D003764:Dental Materials; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; C006903:carbopol 940