Effectiveness of reciprocal-action instrumentation for polishing composite resin: an in vitro study

This in vitro study investigates the use of reciprocal-action instrumentation for polishing composite resin restorative materials. Electron photomicrographs were made of surfaces of a microfilled and a hybrid composite resin restorative material polished by various reciprocal-action polishing procedures, including several types of polishing pastes used with nonabrasive plastic tips. The best polish on the microfilled composite resin restorative material tested was produced by ending with 3-mu diamond polishing paste. The best polish on the hybrid composite resin restorative material tested was produced by ending with 0.5-mu diamond polishing paste. The surfaces produced were comparable to those produced by polishing discs.