Exploiting optical coherence tomography to evaluate wear in spiral dental polishing systems

This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of spiral polishing systems in restorative materials through optical coherence tomography (OCT). Performance of spiral polishers specific to resin and ceramics were evaluated. The surface roughness of restorative materials was measured, and images of the polishers were acquired by OCT and stereomicroscope. Surface roughness was reduced in ceramic and glass-ceramic composite polished with a system specific to resin (p<0.01). Surface area variation was observed on all polishers, except for the medium-grit polisher tested in ceramic (p<0.05). Similarity between images obtained through OCT and stereomicroscopy presented a Kappa inter- and intra-observer of 0.94 and 0.96, respectively. Then, OCT was able to evaluate wear areas in spiral polishers.