Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the surface roughness (Ra) of different esthetic restorative materials following simulated toothbrushing using different whitening dentifrices.
Materials and methods: Cylinders of Esthet-X (Dentsply Caulk, Milford, DE, USA), Durafil VS (Heraeus Kulzer, Wehrheim, Germany), and Vitremer (3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA) were made using molds (4 mm in diameter for 2 mm in height). The superficial roughness was evaluated using a profilometer (Ra) with a cutoff length of 0.25 mm and a speed of 0.1 mm/s. The specimens (N=13) were submitted to 7,500 brushing cycles using five different toothpastes: (1) Crest Regular (control; Procter & Gamble): silica abrasive (C); (2) Crest Extra Whitening (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, USA): bicarbonate+calcium pyrophosphate (CE); (3) Dental Care A & H (Arm & Hammer, Camilla, GA, USA): bicarbonate (DC); (4) Rembrandt Plus Whitening (Oral B Laboratories, Belmont, CA, USA): carbamide peroxide+alumina/silica (RP); and (5) experimental: hydrogen peroxide+calcium carbonate (EX).
Results: The data were analyzed by analysis of variance and Tukey's test (alpha=.05) for each restorative material, and the results [difference between final and initial roughness: Ra(F)-Ra(I) in microm] were as follows: Esthet-X: EX=0.15+0.07a; RP=0.29+0.16a; CE=0.96+0.33b; C=1.03+0.29b; DC=1.48+0.37b; Durafil VS: RP=0.09+0.07a; EX=0.55+0.23abc; C=0.96+0.26bc; CE=1.03+0.33cd; DC=1.09+0.37d; and Vitremer: EX=0.10+0.08a; RP=0.26+0.19a; CE=0.94+0.27b; DC=1.13+0.46bc; C=1.50+0.32c (different letters mean differences among groups).
Conclusion: It was verified that the dentifrices containing carbamide or hydrogen peroxide along with alumina+silica and calcium carbonate, respectively (groups 4 and 5), produced minor changes in Ra when compared with the control group and with those dentifrices containing bicarbonate (groups 2 and 3). CLINICAL significance The results of this study indicate that whitening dentifrices evaluated containing silica or calcium carbonate were less abrasive when used on the resin-based esthetic restorative materials than those that contain sodium bicarbonate.