Waviness of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) prepared surfaces

The wave (W) element offers a surface topography assessment method with the potential to yield unique data.

This study uses glass ionomer cement specimens prepared with six Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) surface treatments to explore arc- and line-modified waviness of these surfaces to determine if they gave similar results.

Six specimens (5 x 1.5mm) were prepared for each of the six surface treatments: (1) surface compressed with a Vaseline lubricated finger (Va); (2) Va followed by carving with an excavator(Ca); (3) Ca burnished with a ball burnisher (Bu); (4) surface compressed with the gloved finger lubricated with poly-acrylic acid (Aa); (5) surface cured against a Mylar strip (My); (6) My polished with a white rubber sulcus wheel (Po). After storage in distilled water for seven days at 37 degrees C W(a), W(v), W(p), W(t) was analysed using arc- and line-modifications of the raw profile. The data were analysed using a General Linear Models analysis and Tukey's Studentised range test with P < 0.05.

Ca and Bu; Va and Aa; and My and Po formed three groups with descending ranking order for W whether arc- or line-modified. Arc-modified tracing data was unable to statistically distinguish between surface treatments whereas line-modification showed significant differences between treatments for all parameters measured (W(a), W(v0, W(p), W(t)).

Line-modified waviness data was better able to distinguish between surface treatments than arc-modification. Wave offers unique surface topography data having potential value to dental materials researchers.