Influence of Various Polishing Systems on the Surface Roughness of Nanofilled Composite Resin: A Comparative in Vitro Study

This study aimed to assess and compare the surface roughness of nanofilled resin based composite (Filtek Z-350 XT) after using different finishing-polishing systems. sixty disk shaped samples were made from resin composite by using standardized cylindrical metal mold with measurements of 2 mm in thickness and 10 mm in diameter. The samples were randomly assigned to six experimental groups (number = 10): group 1 (transparent Mylar strip), group 2 (Sof-Lex discs), group 3 (Super-Snap discs), group 4 (OptiDisc discs), group 5 (Opti1Step polishers) and group 6 (OneGloss polishers). For each sample, the mean value of average surface roughness (Ra) was defined after three-times measurements using a profilometer. Depending on the results of ANOVA test, the surface roughness of the evaluated groups was in the following arrangement: transparent strip Super Snap discs OptiDisc discs Opti1Step polishers SofLex discs OneGloss polishers. The difference was statistically significant for composite surface roughness in the six study groups (P 5%). The surface finish of Filtek Z-350 XT nanofilled composite was found to be influenced by the following factors: composition of the finishing-polishing system used, number of polishing steps, in addition to the flexibility of the system during execution of finishing and polishing procedures.