Surface texture and roughness of polished nanofill and nanohybrid resin composites

Nanofiller-containing resin composites have gained appreciable market share in dentistry due to their claims of high mechanical strength and low polymerization contraction. In this study, the polishability of one nanofill (Filtek Supreme XT/FIL) and three nanohybrid materials (Grandio/GRA, Tetric EvoCeram/TET, Venus Diamond/VED) was investigated using surface profilometry and SEM. After the specimens were cured under a Mylar strip or pre-ground with 600-grit SiC paper, three polishing systems were applied and their polishing effects compared: diamond polishing points, a diamond paste, and urethane-backed aluminum oxide disks. Except for the profilometry results obtained by glass filler-containing GRA and VED with one polishing system that comprised the consecutive application of diamond particles and a diamond polishing paste, the final roughness (Ra) of all other specimens were lower than the clinically acceptable 0.2 microm threshold. The surface textures of the polished nanofill FIL and nanohybrid TET were uniformly smooth, whereas relief polishing effects and filler extrusion of varying extents were seen on the nanohybrid composites GRA and VED.