Methods: Three nanocomposites (Filtek Supreme (3M), Grandio (Voco), Synergie D6 (Coltene-Whaledent)) and one microhybrid composite (Tetric Ceram (Ivoclar-Vivadent)) were studied with two different polishing systems (Sof-Lex (3M) , Compo system disc (Komet)). A multitechnique approach was used with Optical profilometry, SEM and AFM observations. All profilometry resultants were analyzed by means of two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: All the resin composites showed significant increasing in roughness of the surface after polishing procedures (p<0.0001). Both techniques (Sof-Lex and CompoSystem) produced the smoothest surfaces for Filtek Supreme XT, following by Synergy D6, Tetric Ceram and Grandio having the highest Ra values. Statistically significant differences were observed among them (p<0.0001). Among the polishing systems, the lowest Ra values for all resin composites were attributed for Sof-Lex system (p<0.0001).
Conclusions: According to this study, it can be concluded that using nanoparticles in the resin composite formulation is not sufficient to improve their surface texture after polishing. The average roughness was related to the average glass filler size. The nanofilled composite Filtek Supreme, which contains only nanofillers, showed the best results when associated to Sof-Lex polishing discs.