Effects of ultrasonic and sonic scaling on surfaces of tooth-colored restorative materials: An in vitro study

The effects of sonic and ultrasonic scalings (USSs) on the surface roughness of nanohybrid, flowable, and polyacid-modified resin composites and conventional glass ionomer cement were examined, and the effectiveness of repolishing on the scaled material surfaces was determined.

The surface roughness of each sample was measured three times before and after each scaling and after repolishing, and the data were analyzed using repeated measuresanalysis of variance, Tukey's multiple comparisons, and paired t-tests by a statistical program.

Although sonic and USS both significantly increased the surface roughness of all the tooth-colored materials, USS roughened the surfaces of all the test materials more than SS did. Hence, USS may detrimentally affect tooth-colored restorative materials, especially conventional glass ionomers and compomers. Repolishing decreased the surface roughness of all the materials to near their baseline levels.

On the basis of these results, the repolishing of restoration surfaces is strongly recommended after dental scalings.