Influence of abrasive particle size on surface properties of flowable composites

The purpose of this investigation was to measure and compare both the surface roughness and gloss of flowable composites polished with standardized silicone carbide (SiC) papers. Four flowable and two conventional composites were used in this study. Polymerized specimens were subjected to a polishing procedure comprising 12 sequential steps from coarser to finer grits of SiC paper. At the initial polishing stage, flowable composites were more sensitive to the size of the polishing particles and thus yielded surfaces rougher than the conventional composites. Surface roughness became stable when polishing particles less than 13 microm size were used. However, although surface roughness was reduced, an esthetic gloss quality was not achieved on the resultant polished surface. On the influence of filler shape, composites with spherical fillers seemed to have the upper-hand advantage of attaining a high gloss by polishing. On the influence of polishing particle size, it was suggested that polishing should be completed with polishing particles less than 12 microm size so as to achieve clinically satisfactory surface roughness and gloss.