Effect of Polishing Systems on Gloss of Resin Composites

Objectives: To evaluate gloss of bulk-fill versus universal composites polished with four different polishing systems.
Methods: One hundred and sixty disc-shaped resin composite specimens (10 mm in diameter, 2-mm thick, n=20) were made using of each of eight materials (Table). The specimens in each group were subdivided into four sub-groups (n=5) and polished with one of the following polishing systems: Enhance + PoGo, OneGloss, DiaComp Feather Lite, and Jiffy Points (Table). Gloss was measured using a small area gloss meter (Novo-Curve, Rhopoint Instruments,East Sussex, UK). Means and standard deviations were calculated. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance. Fisher’s PLSD intervals were calculated at the 0.05 level of significance.
Results: Statistically significant differences were recorded among polishing systems and composites (P <0.0001). Fisher’s PLSD interval for comparison among polishing systems and composite types was 3.4 and 2.4, respectively. The highest gloss values were obtained using Enhance+PoGo polishing system, while overall universals exhibited better polishability than bulk-fills (71 vs. 54 GU).
Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that Enhance+PoGo polishing system were the most effective, while higher gloss values were recorded for universal composites as compared to bulk-fills.