The aim of the study was to evaluate the surface condition, after finishing and polishing with 3 different systems, of a flowable composite material, starting from the microstructure experimentally analyzed by atomic force microscopy.
Materials and method. The material tested in the present study was Filtek Ultimate Flowable Restorative (3M ESPE) composite. 20 cylindrical samples, 5 mm in diameter and 2 mm thick, were prepared by using metallic molds. The samples were randomly divided into 4 groups: a group containing 5 control samples, not subjected to finishing and 3 groups formed, each, of 5 samples for each of the three finishing and polishing systems, respectively system 1: the two-step Sof-Lex (3M ESPE), system 2: multistep Super Snap (Shofu, Inc. Kyoto, Japan) and system 3: multi-step OptiDisc (KerrHawe SA, Switzerland). The surfaces of the samples were analyzed by atomic force
microscopy. For quantitative evaluations, the rugosity parameter (Ra), and the mean deviation of the determined profile were calculated.
Results. All 3 polishing systems determined an increase of the Ra parameter, comparatively with the control samples; the highest mean Ra value, of 1.19 μm, was recorded for system 3, followed by system 2 (mean Ra value = 1.12 μm), while the lowest mean value, of 1.10 μm,
was registered for system 1. Conclusions. All three systems under investigation induced increased rugosity on the surfaces of the samples prepared from the Filtek Ultimate Flowable Restorative (3M ESPE) composite resin. The most abrasive system
appears to be OptiDisc (KerrHawe SA, Switzerland), followed by the Super Snap (Shofu, Inc. Kyoto, Japan) system, the one recording the lowest abrasion being Sof- Lex (3M ESPE).
- AFM
- finishing and polishing systems
- flowable composites