Profilometric Analysis on the Surface of Composite Materials

Overview

The optimum way to polish composite materials in the physician’s consultingroom and in the dental laboratory remains an open question. The authors analyzed the surfaceof samples of laboratory composites after polishing. Different ways of polishing of the hybridglass polymer Artglass and a more recent microfilled glass polymer Signum produced byHeraeus-Kulzer were compared. The roughness of surface was measured by the method ofAtomic Force Microscopy (AFM). At the level of AFM the microfilled glass polymer Signumproved to be polished better than the Artglass material. In the samples of glass polymercomposite Artglass polished with the Opal paste or a combination of the HP paste and thepolishing suspension Sitol, better results were reached than with the polishing by the HP pasterecommended by the producer. The time polishing played a positive role in the quality ofpolished sample.

Key words:
composite resins – polyglas – dental polishing – atomic force microscopy (AFM)