Surface roughness of high-performance polymers used for fixed implant-supported prostheses

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Dental Materials Science
• Polymer Science

Background:

• High-performance polymers are recommended for implant-supported fixed prostheses.
• Limited data exists on the surface roughness of various polymer compositions and their need for resin layering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the surface roughness of different CAD-CAM high-performance polymers.
• To assess the impact of polishing on the surface roughness of these materials.

Main Methods:

• Seventy specimens of PEEK, PEKK, and FRC materials were milled using CAD-CAM.
• Surface roughness (Ra) was measured post-milling and post-polishing using a contact profilometer.
• Statistical analysis included two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni corrected t test.

Main Results:

• No significant baseline surface roughness differences were observed among the tested high-performance polymers.
• Polishing did not significantly alter surface roughness for most materials, except for one PEEK brand (J).
• The J PEEK material exhibited higher surface roughness after polishing compared to several other materials.

Conclusions:

• Milled high-performance polymers show similar surface roughness regardless of composition.
• Polishing can negatively impact the surface roughness of specific PEEK materials.
• All tested materials exceeded the 0.2 μm clinical acceptability threshold for surface roughness.