Comparison of surface roughness of dental materials as an adhesion factor of oral biofilm

Abstract

Introduction: In order for a material to be considered biologically acceptable, it is necessary to have such a surface design that it reacts as little as possible with tissue and environmental agents. No processing method can produce a molecularly flat surface of dental materials. The aim: of the study was to examine the roughness of various dental materials, using a mechanical profilometer. Material and methods: The test included different materials such as composite, hot polymerized acrylate, cold polymerized acrylates used in prosthetics and orthodontics, zirconium oxide ceramics and glass-ceramics. Samples of the research materials were made according to the manufacturer's instructions. The measurement of the roughness of the obtained samples was performed using a Mitutoyo SJ-301 Suftest device, dragging the reader across the samples, in two directions (vertical and horizontal), thus obtaining two measurement values for each material individually. Results: By measuring the roughness of the material, it was found that there were significant differences between the samples tested. The highest roughness was measured for cold polymerized acrylates used in prosthetics, while the lowest roughness was measured for composite materials. Conclusion: The roughness was significantly higher for cold polymerized acrylates than the other tested materials and should, wherever possible, be replaced by hot polymerized acrylates. In order to reduce the roughness of dental materials, the principles of their preparation and in particular the surface treatment (polishing and glazing process) should be followed.

Keywords

• roughness
• dental materials