title: Three-dimensional evaluation of surface roughness of resin composites after finishing and polishing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to investigate the effects of finishing and polishing procedures on four novel resin composites using three-dimensional optical profilometer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four composites classified according to their filler size, were selected: Filtek™ Z350 XT/Nanofill (3M™ ESPE™), Esthet-X HD/Hybrid (Dentsply Caulk), Te Econom/Microfill (Ivoclar Vivadent(®)), Tetric EvoCeram(®) /Nanohybrid (Ivoclar Vivadent(®)). Composite specimens were made in Plexiglass mold and polished with Soflex (3M ESPE), Enhance + Pogo (Dentsply Caulk). Both the systems were used according to the manufacturers' instructions, and the polished surfaces were assessed with an optical profilometer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kruskal-Wallis test and further pairwise comparison were performed by Mann-Whitney test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The smoothest surfaces for all the resin composites tested were obtained from the Mylar strip; statistically significant differences were observed among them (P = 0.001). The order of composites was ranked from the lowest to highest surface roughness; Filtek Z350 XT < Te Econom < Tetric EvoCeram < Esthet XHD. Pairwise multiple comparison with Mann-Whitney test showed Filtek Z350 to have the smoothest surface and the least with Teric EvoCeram. Among the polishing systems, Soflex showed the smoothest surface and was significantly different from Pogo (P = 0.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The effectiveness of the polishing systems seems to be dependent on the material used, treatment modality and also on the filler particle size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo, M.R. Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Veena S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo Cos and Endo, PMS Dental College, Golden Hills, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sainudeen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo, M.R. Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Prabeesh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Padmanabhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo, M.R. Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Vijayashankar
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo Cos and Endo, PMS Dental College, Golden Hills, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Unu
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sujathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cons and Endo Cos and Endo, PMS Dental College, Golden Hills, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pillai
keywords: Composite; finishing; optical profilometer surface roughness; polishing