Abstract Objective:

To evaluate the topography and microhardness of composite resin restorations submitted to different finishing and polishing systems before and after erosive challenge.

Material and Methods:

Thirty standardized cavities prepared in enamel-dentin blocks of bovine incisors were restored with Z350 composite resin, and randomly distributed into three groups (n=10) according to the finishing and polishing systems: G1 = Soflex 4 steps, G2 = Soflex Spiral 2 steps and G3 = PoGo (single step). The specimens were half protected with nail varnish and submitted to five immersions in Pepsi Twist®, for 10 minutes each, five times/day during six consecutive days. The initial and final challenge surface microhardness (SMHinitial and SMHfinal) of the composite resin was evaluated and the percentage of SMH loss (%SMHL) was calculated. After protection removal, the topographic change linear (Ra) and volumetric (Sa) roughness was evaluated in initial and final areas by using 3D non-contact optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data were analyzed by paired Student's t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and by ANOVA and Tukey's test.

Results:

There was significant intra-group %SMHL in composite resin (p<0.05). Differences among groups in %SMHL, Ra/Sa in resin composite were not observed (p>0.05). SEM images revealed structural changes between the initial and final surfaces for all groups.

Conclusion:

The three types of finishing and polishing systems had a similar influence on %SMHL, Ra and Sa in the nanofilled composite resin.