Effect of Tooth Brushing on the Surface of Enamel and Direct and Indirect CAD/CAM Restorative Materials

Purpose: To determine the effects of tooth brushing on the surface roughness (Sa) and morphology, maximum relative depth (Rv), gloss (gloss units [GU]), and microhardness of four esthetic restorative materials and enamel. Materials and Methods: A light-curing composite resin (Filtek Supreme Ultra [FSU]), two hybrid resin/ceramic CAD/CAM materials (Lava Ultimate [LAV] and VITA Enamic [VEN]), and a CAD/CAM feldspathic ceramic (VITABLOCS Mark II) were evaluated. Bovine enamel (ENA) was used as a control group. All surfaces were polished in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Samples were analyzed before and after brushing (30,000 cycles) regarding Sa and Rv using a 3D laser-measuring microscope. GU was evaluated every 10,000 tooth brushing cycles. Microhardness was measured before and after tooth brushing. The surfaces were observed using scanning electron and laser measuring microscopies to determine the wear patterns. Data were analyzed using paired t test, one-way or two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance, and Tukey test (α = .05), depending on the method performed. Results: The Sa increased significantly after brushing for all materials, except for VMA, which showed the opposite effect. ENA and VEN showed higher Rv than VMA. After 30,000 tooth brushing cycles, VMA showed the highest GU, while FSU showed the lowest. Also, few surface topography changes were observed for VMA. Microhardness did not change significantly after 30,000 brushing cycles, except for LAV. Conclusion: Brushing caused surface alterations in all tested materials except for feldspathic ceramic. The changes were more evident in resin-based materials. Int J Prosthodont 2021;34:473–481. doi: 10.11607/ijp.6594