Effects of chairside polishing and brushing on surface roughness of acrylic denture base resins

The effects of 3 chairside polishing kits and mechanical brushing on the surface roughness of 3 different acrylic denture base resins were compared. Acrylic denture base resins (auto-polymerizing, heat-polymerizing, injected heat-polymerizing resins) were examined after a tungsten carbide bur, and after chairside polishing using 3 polishing kits and pumice. The specimens were subjected to mechanical brushing using a wear tester to simulate 30 000 strokes of brushing. The surface roughness of the acrylic denture base resin specimens was measured using a contact profilometer. After the test, the random polished acrylic resins were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Acrylic denture base resins polished using the 3 types of polishing kits had a smoother surface than those finished with the tungsten carbide bur (p<0.05). The surface of the resin polished by a TC cutter exceeded the R _a of 0.2 μm (p<0.05). The auto-polymerizing resin showed a significantly higher surface roughness than the heat-polymerizing resin and injected heat-polymerizing resin (p>0.05). In the case of polishing step wise, there was almost no change in surface roughness after brushing (p>0.05).