THE EFFECT OF FINISHING AND POLISHING PROCEDURES ON THE SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF NORITAKE® CERAMIC

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface roughness of Noritake® ceramic after different methods of finishing and polishing. 40 specimens of Noritake® ceramic were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=10) and subjected to different methods of finishing and polishing: Group 1 (control) - glaze; Group 2 - abrasive rubbers Astropol (Ivoclar Vivadent), felt disc and diamond paste; Group 3 - abrasive rubbers (Edenta), felt disc and diamond paste; Group 4 - Sof-Lex discs (3M ESPE), felt disc and diamond paste. Subsequently, the surface roughness was measured with rugosimeter (Mitutoyo SJ 301). The control group (G1) had the lowest surface roughness (0.68 ?m) that was different statistically to the other groups (p0.05). The different methods of finishing and polishing were not able to promote a surface as smooth as the application of glaze in the ceramics tested.