Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of professional mechanical tooth cleaning (PMTC) pastes on the surface roughness of enamel and restoratives, and to assess the plaque removal effectiveness.
Methods: Five different PMTC pastes, Clinpro Cleaning Paste for PMTC (CP), Concool Cleaning Jell (CJ), Merssage Regular (MR), Merssage Fine (MF), and Merssage Plus (MP), were used. The subject materials used were stainless steel as a substitute proxy for enamel, resin composite, and gold-silver-palladium alloy. A flat surface of each specimen was prepared and polished with a sequence of SiC papers to 2,000-grit. The PMTC procedure was conducted using a bristle brush at 2,000 rpm for 15 sec. The surface roughness was measured with a laser scanning microscope and analyzed using the built-in software. For the assessment of plaque removal efficacy, artificial plaque was applied to the sample surface, and then subjected to PMTC in the same manner as described above. Plaque removal rate was determined using commercial computer software.
Results: The surface roughness of the specimens tended to increase with the use of PMTC paste. Among the PMTC pastes, MR showed a significantly higher surface roughness. The plaque removal rates were dependent on the PMTC pastes employed.
Conclusion: Surface roughness and plaque removal effectiveness were material-dependent regardless of the kind of restorative.
