The effect of polishing on surface roughness of tissue conditioners

Purpose: Surface roughness can affect microbial colonization of long-term d enture liners, alloys, and denture acrylic. The purpose of the present stud y was to examine the effect of finishing and polishing procedures on surfac e roughness of 4 temporary resilient denture liners (tissue conditioners). Materials and Methods: Mean surface roughness was measured For 4 materials (Lynal, Visco-gel, Coe-Soft, and functional Impression Tissue Toner [FITT]) finished in 4 ways: unfinished (control); polished; reduced, unpolished; a nd reduced, polished. Samples were allowed to polymerize at 37 degrees C fo r 24 hours, and the surface roughness was measured using a Mitutoyo Surftes t 212. Results: Mean surface roughness ranged from 1.8 +/- 0.8 mu m for pol ished Lynal to 7.8 +/- 1.1 mu m for reduced, unpolished FITT. All polished samples were smoother than unpolished samples (including controls), whether or not the samples were reduced with a bur. Conclusion: Polished samples o f tissue conditioning material had lower mean surface roughness measurement s than control or reduced, unpolished samples at the 95% level of confidenc e. There was no difference in mean surface roughness measurements of contro l samples and unpolished samples reduced with a bur at the 95% level of con fidence. Mean surface roughness differed significantly between the material s tested.