Vinay PavanKumar .

K
1st year PG Student
Dept of Prosthodontics
AECS Maaruti dental college
 Steps in finishing and
polishing

Classification
Finishing and
polishing procedures
for different materials
Abrasives and
polishing agents Abrasive instrument
Abrasion design

Erosion Factors affecting

abrasion
 Abrasion

Abrasion is the process of wear on the surface of one

material by another material by scratching, gouging,
chiseling, tumbling, or other mechanical means

The wearing away of a substance or structure (such

as the skin or the teeth) through some unusual or
abnormal mechanical process
-GPT 8
Harder material comes into frictional contact with the
substrate

Contact generates tensile and shear stresses

Break atomic bonds

Substrate particles are removed

1. Two-body abrasion
• Abrasive bonded to instrument

Eg - diamond bur abrading a tooth.

• Non bonded abrasives
• Abrasive particles are free

Eg - dental prophylaxis paste

• Wear caused by hard particles impacting a
substrate surface, carried by a stream of liquid
or stream of air. Eg. Sand blasting a surface

• Chemical erosion
Acid etching

Enhance bonding
 Cutting

• Use of any instrument in a bladelike fashion

• Regularly arranged blades that remove small

shavings of the substrate

• Unidirectional cutting pattern

 Grinding
• Removes small particles of a substrate through
the action of bonded or coated abrasive
instruments

• Predominantly unidirectional

• Innumerable unidirectional scratches

• Eg: a diamond coated rotary instrument

 Polishing

• Most refined of the finishing processes

• Multidirectional in its course of action
• Acts on an extremely thin region of the
substrate surface
• Use of progressively fine polishing media
• Final stage produces fine scratches - not
visible unless greatly magnified
• Hardness

• Shape

• Size

• Pressure

• Speed

• lubricants
 Hardness
• Relates to durability of an abrasive
• Measure of a material’s ability to resist indentation
• Abrasive particle must be harder than the surface to be
abraded
• First ranking of hardness was published in 1820 by
Friedrich Mohs
• Knoop and Vickers hardness tests
Material Moh’s Brinell Knoop Material Moh’s Brinell Knoop

Talc 1 Alumnium 9 1700 1900

oxide
Gypsum 2 Silicon carbide 9-10 3000 2500

Chalk 3 Boron carbide 9-10 2800

Rouge 5-6 Diamond 10 >3000 7000

Pumice 6 450 560 SUBSTRATES

Tripoli 6-7 Acrylic 2-3 25

Garnet 6.5-7 550 Pure gold 2.5-3 30
Tin oxide 6-7 Porcelain 6-7 400
Sand 7 650 800 Amalgam 4-5 90
Cuttle 7 650 800 Dentin 3-4
Tool steel 800 Enamel 5-6 270
Zirconium 7-7.5 Glass 5-6
silicate
Tungsten 9 1200 2100 Resin composite 5-7 200
carbide
• Sharp, irregular particle produces deeper abrasion than
rounder particle under equal applied force

• Numerous sharp edges - enhanced cutting efficiency

• Abrasion rate of an abrasive decreases with use

• Larger particles size, abrade a surface more rapidly

• Particles based on their size:

1. Coarse -100 µm to 500 µm,
2. Medium -10 µm to 100 µm,
3. Fine - 0 to 10 µm.
 Greater force during finishing

Abrasive cut deeper into the surface

More rapid removal of material

Raise in temperature within the substrate

Distortion or physical changes within the

substrate
• Deeper and wider scratches are produced by
increasing the applied force from F1and F2
 Faster speed

Faster cutting rates

Temperature increases

Greater danger of overcutting

• Minimize the heat buildup

• Facilitates removal of debris

• Cooling action and removal of debris enhances

the abrasion process.

• Water is the most common lubricant

• Eg. Water, glycerin or silicone

• Excess lubrication – prevent abrasive contact

• Abrasive Grits.

• Bonded Abrasives.

• Coated abrasive disks and strips

• Non bonded abrasives

• Derived from materials that have been crushed
and passed through a series of mesh screens

• Dental abrasive grits based on particle size are

• Coarse
• Medium coarse
• Medium
• Fine
• Superfine
• Abrasive particles are incorporated through a
binder to form grinding tool

• Particles are bonded by four general methods:

• Sintering

• Vitreous bonding

• Resinous bonding

• Rubber bonding (latex or silicon based)

1. Bonded abrasives that tend to disintegrate
rapidly

• Used against a weak substrate

• Reduced instrument life

2. Abrasives that tend to degrade too slowly clog

with grinding debris
• Loss of abrasive efficiency, increased heat
generation, and increased finishing time
• Truing : abrasive instrument is run against a
harder abrasive block until the abrasive
instrument rotates in the hand piece without
eccentricity or runout when placed on a substrate.
• Dressing :

1)Reduces instrument to correct working size,

shape

2)Removes clogged debris (abrasive blinding) -

Restores grinding efficiency

Truing
• supplied as disks and finishing strips.

• Fabricated by securing abrasive particles to a flexible

backing material

• available in different diameters with thin and very thin

backings.

• Moisture – resistant backings are advantageous

Abrasive discs :

• Gross reduction, contouring, finishing, and

polishing of restoration surfaces

• Coated with aluminum oxide abrasive

Abrasive strips :

• With plastic or metal backing are available for

smoothening and polishing the interproximal
surfaces of direct and indirect bonded
restorations
• Polishing pastes - final polishing.

• Applied to substrate with a nonabrasive device

- synthetic foam , rubber, felt, or chamois cloth.

• Dispersed in water soluble medium such as

glycerin for dental appliances.

• Aluminium oxide and diamond

Based on surface removal

1. Cutting Instruments : Tungsten carbide

2. Bonded abrasive

• Diamonds

• Silicon carbide

• White stone

• Tripoli

• Rouge
3. Impregnated abrasives-
• Aluminium oxide
• Emery
• Quartz
• Silicon carbide
• Garnet
• Zirconium silicate
• Cuttle

4. Loose abrasives
• Aluminum oxide
• Ultra fine diamond particles
• Tin oxide
• Pumice
• Diamond - 7500 KHN

• Silicon carbide - 2500 KHN

• Aluminum oxide - 2100 KHN

• Emery - 2000 KHN

• Corundum - 2000 KHN

• Tungsten carbide - 1900 KHN

• Garnet - 1350 KHN

• Quartz - 800 KHN

• Sand - 560 KHN

• Pumice - 560 KHN

 Natural abrasives
1. Arkansas Stone 7. Pumice
2. Chalk 8. Quartz
9. Sand
3. Corundum
10. Tripoli
4. Diamond 11. Zirconium silicate
5. Emery 12. Cuttle
6. Garnet 13. Kieselguhr
 Synthetic Abrasives

1. Silicon carbide
2. Aluminium oxide
3. Synthetic diamond
4. Rouge
5. Tin oxide
• Semi translucent , light gray, siliceous
sedimentary rock.

• Contains microcrystalline quartz.

• Attached to metal shanks and trued

to various shapes

• Fine grinding of tooth enamel and

metal alloys
• Mineral forms of calcite.

• White abrasive composed of

calcium carbonate.

• Used as a mild abrasive paste to

polish tooth enamel, gold foil,
amalgam and plastic materials.
• Mineral form of aluminum
oxide
• Physical properties are
inferior to those of alpha
aluminum oxide.
• Grinding metal alloys
• A bonded abrasive in several
shapes.
• Used in instrument – White
stone
• Transparent colorless mineral
composed of carbon
• Superabrasive

• Supplied in several forms

• Bonded abrasive rotary
instruments
• Flexible metal backed abrasive
strips
• Diamond polishing pastes.

• Used on ceramic and resin based

composite materials
 Bur type Color Grit size ISO no

Supercoarse Black ring 181μm 544

Coarse Green ring 151μm 534

Medium No ring 107-126μm 524

Fine Red ring 40μm 514

Superfine Yellow ring 20μm 504

Ultrafine White ring 15μm 494

• Natural form of an oxide of
aluminium
• Grayish- black corundum
• Coated abrasive disks
• Greater the content of alumina
- finer the grade of emery.
• Finishing metal alloys or
acrylic resin materials.
• Dark red, very hard .
• Comprise - silicates of Al, Co,
Mg, Fe, Mn
• Garnet is coated on paper or
cloth with glue.
• Fractured during grinding 
sharp, chisel-shaped plates
• Grinding metal alloys or acrylic
resin materials.
• Highly siliceous material of
volcanic origin
• Powder-crushing pumice stone
• Abrasive action is not very high
• Polishing tooth enamel, gold foil,
dental amalgam and acrylic
resins
• Very hard, colorless, and
transparent.

• Crystalline particles are

pulverized to form sharp,
angular particles - coated
abrasive discs.

• Grinding tooth enamel and

finishing metal alloys.
• Predominantly composed of
silica.
• Particles represent a mixture of
color.
• Rounded to angular shape.
• Applied under air pressure to
remove refractory investment
materials
• Coated on to paper disks
• Derived from light weight, friable siliceous
sedimentary rock.

• Rock is ground and made into bars with soft binders

• Color- white/grey/pink/red/yellow.

• Grey and red types

• Polishing for metal alloys and some acrylic resins.

• Off -white mineral.

• Ground to various particle sizes - coated

abrasive disks and strips.

• Component of dental prophylaxis pastes

• Referred to as cuttle fish, cuttle bone, or cuttle.

• White calcareous powder

• Available as a coated abrasive

• Polishing of metal margins and amalgam

restorations.
• Siliceous remains of minute aquatic plants -
diatoms.
• Coarser form - diatomaceous earth
• Excellent mild abrasive
• Risk for respiratory silicosis caused by chronic
exposure
• Extremely hard abrasive and 1st synthetic abrasive

• Highly effective cutting of metal alloys, ceramics

and acrylic resin materials.

• Abrasive in coated disks and as vitreous - bonded

and rubber instruments.
• White powder

• used as bonded abrasives, coated abrasives and air

propelled abrasives.

• Finishing metal alloys, resin based composites and

ceramic materials.

• Pink and ruby variations- adding chromium compounds

• Consists of iron oxide, which is the fine red abrasive
component.

• Blended in to various soft binders in to a cake form.

• Used to polish high noble metal alloys.

• Extremely fine abrasive.
• Less abrasive than quartz.
• Polishing teeth and metallic
restorations in the mouth.
• Produces excellent polish of
enamel.
• Mixed with water or glycerin -
abrasive paste.
• Controllable, consistent size and shape.

• Resin bonded diamonds have sharp edges

• Larger synthetic diamond particles – greenish

• Blocks with embedded diamond particles –

truing other bonded abrasives

• Used primarily on tooth structure, ceramics and

resin based composites.
• Available as toothpaste, gels and powders.

• The abrasive concentrations in paste and gel

dentrifices are 50% to 75% lower than those of
powder dentrifices
• Function :

 Abrasive and detergent action

 Polish teeth

 Act as vehicles
• removal of exogenous stains, pellicle, material
alba, and oral debris.
• contain moderately abrasive materials : pumice

• Silcon dioxide and zirconium silicate are used

• Applied to teeth through rubber cup on a slow
speed handpiece
 Bulk reduction
• Removal of excess material

• Instruments - diamond, carbide and steel burs,

abrasive coated disks, or separating disks.

• 8 - 12 fluted carbide burs or abrasives with

particle size of 100µm or larger
 Contouring

• Achieved during bulk reduction

• Finer instruments may be used

• Desired anatomy and margins must be

achieved.

• 12 - 16 fluted carbide burs or 30 - 100 µm sized

abrasive particles used
 Finishing

• Introducing finer scratches to surface of substrate

• Provides a blemish free smooth surface.

• 18 - 30 flute carbide burs , fine and super fine

diamond burs, or abrasives between 8 and 20 µm
in size.
• Provides enamel like luster.

• Smaller particles provide smoother and shinier

surfaces

• Abrasives of 20 µm provide luster

• Importance of polishing dental restorations and teeth

• Less bacterial colonization

• Metallic restoration - prevention of tarnish and

corrosion

• Comfortable for the patient

• To promote oral health and function

• Enhance strength of the restorative surface

• To improve esthetics
• Obtain the desired anatomy, proper occlusion

• Reduction of roughness, and scratches.

• Smooth surface

• Resist bacterial adhesion and excessive plaque

accumulation.
• Heat generation during cutting and contouring ,
finishing and polishing procedures is a major
concern.

• To avoid adverse effects to the pulp, cool the

surface using air water spray and intermittent
contact.
• Rubber abrasive points.

• Fine particle disks and strips.

• Fine particle polishing pastes – applied with

soft felt points, muslin wheels, prophy cups or
buffing wheels.
• Composite glazing

• Ceramic glazing

• Electrolytic polishing
• Layer of glaze – unfilled resin

• Smooth highly glossy surface

 Glazing ceramics

• Subjected to high temperature

• Glass like surface
 Electrolytic polishing
• Electrochemical process

• Reverse of electroplating

• Excellent method for Co-Cr alloys

Resin based composite restorations

• Most difficult to polish and finish

• Depends on fillers, preparation design, curing

effectiveness and the post curing time.

• Finishing & Polishing - in one direction only

• Should continue in a direction perpendicular to

the previous one.
• Slow speed hand piece should be used

• Contour with carbide burs, green stones, or heatless

stones.

• Finish with pink stones ( aluminum oxide) , or

medium grade abrasive impregnated rubber wheels
and points( brown and green)

• Apply fine abrasive- impregnated rubber wheels,

cups and points .

• Apply Tripoli or rouge with rag or leather wheels

• Critical area while polishing is the porcelain metal
junction

• Using an air water spray and maintaining

intermittent contact

• Several kits:Axis dental corp, Universal ceramic

polishers, Dialite

• Recommended polishing speed -10,000 rpm

• Polishing at 20,000 rpm reduces flexural strength of

ceramics
• Contour with tungsten carbide burs and sand
paper. Use a rubber point to remove the
scratches.
• Apply pumice with a rag wheel, felt wheel,
bristle brush or prophy cup.
• Apply Tripoli or a mixture of chalk and alcohol
with a rag wheel.
• Alternative to rotary instrument
cutting.

• High pressure stream of 25-

30µm Al2O3.

• ‘Air polishing’- controlled

delivery of air, water and
Sodium bicarbonate slurry.
• Cavity preparation
• Removal of defective restorations
• Endodontic access through porcelain crowns
• Minimal preparation to repair crown margins
• Superficial removal of stains
• Roughening of internal surfaces of indirect
porcelains or composite restorations
• Aerosols – silica based materials (smaller than
5µm)
• Silicosis or grinders disease
• Precautions -adequate water spray, suction
-eyeware ,facemasks
-proper ventilation
• Exposed root surfaces
• Newly erupted teeth
• Patient sensitivity
• Inflamed or bleeding gingival tissue
• Xerostomia
• Respiratory problems
• Caries
• Hypomineralization
• Allergic reaction to pastes
• The objective of this study was to compare both
qualitatively and quantitatively the effects of 4
chairside polishing kits (Exa Technique, Acrylic
Polisher HP blue, AcryPoint, Becht Polishing Cream) and
conventional laboratory polishing (Universal Polishing
Paste for Resins and Metals, Lesk Polishing Liquid) on 3
different types of acrylic resins: autopolymerizing, heat-
polymerizing, and injected heat-polymerizing resin
materials.

Kuhar M et al, Effects of polishing techniques on the surface roughness

of acrylic denture base resins, J Prosthet Dent, 2005;93(1):76-85
• The aim was to study the effect of three polishing
agents : pumice, universal polishing agent and
brite-O on the surface finish and hardness of two
types of acrylic material
• Universal polishing paste produced smoothest
surface
• Irrespective of resin type and polishing methods it
showed equal surface hardness.
Srividya S etal. Effect of different polishing agents on surface finish and
hardness on denture based acrylic resin : A comparative study IJOPRD,
2011, 1(1) 7-11
• The purpose of this laboratory study was to
evaluate three-body wear of three indirect
laboratory composite resins, five chair side bis-
acryl resin-based materials, and two chair side
methacrylate-based materials used to fabricate
provisional implant-supported restorations.

• The use of indirect composite resin is preferred

over chair side methacrylate-based materials
when the provisional implant supported restoration
has to be in service for a long period of time

Santing, H. J., Occlusal Wear of Provisional Implant-Supported

Restorations. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, April 2013
• To find out the correlation between the roughness of
diamonds and roughness created on dentin after
tooth preparation & to measure the surface
roughness of dentin after tooth preparation with
different grit sizes of diamond rotary instruments

• There is positive correlation (r = 0.93) between the

roughness of diamonds and roughness created on
the dentin

The effect of grit size of diamonds on the dentinal surface : Dr. Shivangi
Sinha
• Selection of correct grit size and their correct
sequence for tooth preparation has an influence
on the surface characteristics

• So completion of the tooth preparation with a

finishing bur appeared to be the method of
choice if a smooth tooth preparation surface is
preferred

The effect of grit size of diamonds on the dentinal surface : Dr. Shivangi
Sinha
• This study determined the two-body wear and
toothbrushing wear parameters, including gloss and
roughness measurements and additionally Martens
hardness, of nine aesthetic CAD/CAM materials, one
direct resin-based nano composite plus that of
human enamel as a control group.

• Zirconium dioxide ceramics showed no material

wear and low wear of the enamel antagonist.

Mörmann.W.H etal Wear characteristics of current aesthetic dental

restorative CAD/CAM materials: Two-body wear, gloss retention,
roughness and Martens hardness. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior
of Biomedical Materials ,2013, 20, 113–125
• Two-body wear of CAD/CAM-silicate and -lithium
disilicate ceramics, -hybrid ceramics and nano
composite as well as direct nano composite did not
differ significantly from that of human enamel

• Gloss retention was highest with zirconium dioxide

ceramics, silicate ceramics, hybrid ceramics and
nanocomposites.

• Temporary polymers showed least gloss retention

Mörmann.W.H etal Wear characteristics of current aesthetic dental restorative

CAD/CAM materials: Two-body wear, gloss retention, roughness and Martens
hardness. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials ,2013,
20, 113–125
 Anusavice, Phillips Science of Dental Materials, 12th edition,
2012, Elsevier publications, Florida, Pp 231-254

 O’Brien W.J. Dental materials and their selection,3rd

edition,2002, Quintessence publications Canada, Pp 156-
164

 Ferracane J.L, Materials in Dentistry, 2nd edition, 2001,

Susan Katz publishers, USA, Pp 293-308
 Craig . Powers and Wataha, Dental Materials,
Properties and manipulation, 8th edition,2005, Elsevier
publications, India , Pp 110-28

 Kuhar M et al, Effects of polishing techniques on the

surface roughness of acrylic denture base resins, J
Prosthet Dent, 2005;93(1):76-85

 Jefferies S R, Abrasive Finishing and Polishing in

Restorative Dentistry: A State-of-the-Art Review, Dent
Clin N Am 51 (2007) 379–397

 The effect of grit size of diamonds on the dentinal

surface : Dr. Shivangi Sinha
 Srividya S etal. Effect of different polishing agents on surface
finish and hardness on denture based acrylic resin : A
comparative study IJOPRD, 2011, 1(1) 7-11

 Mörmann.W.H etal Wear characteristics of current aesthetic

dental restorative CAD/CAM materials: Two-body wear, gloss
retention, roughness and Martens hardness. Journal of the
Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials ,2013 April, 20,
113–125

 Santing, H. J., Occlusal Wear of Provisional Implant-

Supported Restorations. Clinical Implant Dentistry and
Related Research, April 2013