Effects of Aging on Hardness and Roughness of Sealed Composites

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of artificial aging on the surface roughness and microhardness of surface sealant applied composites.
Methods: A Total of 80-disc shaped specimens (10 mm X 2 mm) were fabricated from two different types of resin composites.: TPH Spectra ST LV and Esthet-X HD (Dentsply). Specimens were finished using #400 grit SiC paper and polished with a Enhance and PoGo, (Dentsply) for 40 seconds. Each composite group (n=40) were subdivided into 4 groups according to the surface sealants (n=5 per group): Permaseal (Ultradent), DuraFinish (Parkell), OptiGuard (Kerr Corp) and Control (No surface sealant). Surface Roughness and microhardness measurements were performed using a Digiprofilo I Profilometer and a Leco Vickers microhardness tester respectively, before (baseline) and after aging. Means and Standard deviations were calculated . The results were analyzed with the generalized linear model at a 0.05 level of significance.
Results: Means and standard deviations for surface Roughness (Ra) and hardness (VHN) for the experimental groups are listed in the tables.For surface Roughness, there were no significant difference observed between the surface sealants and control after artificial aging for TPH Spectra ST LV and Esthet-X HD (p> 0.05). In terms of microhardness, Permaseal with Esthet-X HD exhibited statistically lower microhardness values compared to other sealants and control (p<0.05). For TPH Spectra ST LV control showed higher microhardness values than surface sealant groups (p<0.05).
Conclusions: On the basis of the results and within the limitation of this study, it can be concluded that surface sealant application did not improve the surface roughness and microhardness after aging.