EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SURFACE TREATMENTS ON SURFACE FREE ENERGY OF BULK FILL COMPOSITES

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of ultrasonic cleaning, phosphoric acid etching, and their combination on surface roughness and surface free energy. Which surface treatments (polishing or sandblasting or their combination) raise the SFE better, which can favor adhesion to composite surface. The tested resin based composites were SureFill SDR Flow and Tetric EvoCeram bulk fill composites. The conclusion of our results is that the cleaning effects (US, PA, US+PA) significantly influenced the Ra and SFE data compared to polished composite surface. The PA decreased the surface roughness and increased SFE that can facilitate the adhesion to composite.