Evaluation of the effects of surface treatments on different dental ceramic structures

Abstract

The surface treatments applied to porcelain materials can be different overglaze methods, chemical interactions and polishing techniques. The aims of these methods are the most durable restoration and the smoothest surface. The smoothness attained with these processes is important due to the following reasons: reduction of the bacteria remaining in the pores of a surface, improvement of gingival health and esthetic view, and prevention of an abrasion of the opposite canal. The aim of this study is to assess different surface-finishing operations that are applied to widely used porcelains in prosthetic dentistry using SEM (a scanning electron microscope). In the experiments seven different surface finishing operations (sandpaper, rubber, Sof-Lex, HP paste, autoglaze, overglaze and ion exchange) were applied to four different commercial porcelains (IPS d. SIGN, Antagon, Ceramco 3, Vitadur Alpha).The effects of various surface-finishing operations on porcelain are micromorphologically evaluated (a SEM analysis). The results showed that the smoothest surfaces were obtained with the overglaze and autoglaze, followed by HP paste, rubber, Sof-Lex and sandpaper. In addition, the smoothness values of HP paste proved that it can be safely used in clinical surface-finishing operations.