FINISHING & POLISHING MATERIALS

By
Asma Altaf
Lecturer Dental Technology
KMU

2/22/2016 4th Semester 1

• FINISHING: Process of removing surface
defects/scratches.
• POLISHING: Polishing is the process of
providing luster or gloss on a material surface.
• FINISHED & POLISHED RESTORATION:
A prosthesis or a direct restoration
whose outer surface has been refined to a
desired state of finish.

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 GOALS
The goals of finishing
& polishing procedures are to
obtain the desired
anatomy, proper
occlusion & the
reduction of roughness &
scratches that are
produced during the making
of the prosthesis.

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 BENEFITS OF FINISHING &
POLISHING
Finished & polished restorations provide 3
major benefits of dental care:
 Oral health

 Function

 Aesthetics

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 Most finishing & polishing in dentistry is
performed by ABRASION.

ABRASION:
Is the process of wear of a material by
another material through scratching, chiseling or
other mechanical means.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF
ABRASIVES
Abrasives used in dentistry can be classified
into the following three types:
 FINISHING ABRASIVES
are generally hard, coarse & used
primarily to produce the desired contours of a
restoration or tooth preparation.

 POLISHING ABRASIVES
have finer particle sizes & are less
hard than the finishing abrasives, they are used
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 to smooth surfaces roughened by finishing
abrasives.

 CLEANSING ABRASIVES
are generally soft materials with small
particle sizes & are intended to remove softer
materials that adhere to the enamel or
restorations.

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 TYPES OF ABRASIVES
Natural abrasives are:

 ARKANSAS STONE: for fine grinding of tooth enamel

& metal alloys.
 CHALK: is mild abrasive paste to polish tooth enamel,
gold foil, amalgam & plastic materials.
 CORUNDUM: for grinding metal alloys.
 EMERY: for finishing metal alloys & acrylic resin
materials.
 GARNET: grinding metal alloys & acrylic resin materials.

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 PUMICE: polishing tooth enamel, gold foil, dental
amalgam & acrylic resins.
 QUARTZ: to finish metal alloys but can be used to grind
dental enamel.
 SAND: for grinding of metal alloys & acrylic resin
materials.
 TRIPOLI: used for polishing metal alloys & some acrylic
resin materials

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 SYNTHETIC abrasives include
 SILICON CARBIDE: cutting of materials, including
metal alloys, ceramics & acrylic resins
 ALUMINUM OXIDE: for finishing metal alloys, resin-
based composites & ceramic materials.
 ABRASIVE PASTES: finishing enamel and acrylic
resins
 TIN OXIDE: for polishing teeth & metallic
restorations.

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 DENTIFRICES
Dentifrices are
available as
toothpastes, gels &
powder.

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They are used for three important functions :
 their abrasive actions provide more efficient
removal of debris & plaque .
 they polish teeth to provide increased light
reflectance & superior aesthetic appearance.
 high polish enables teeth to resist accumulation
of microorganism & stains

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 finally, dentifrices act
as vehicles for
delivery of therapeutic
agents e.g. fluorides,
tartar controlling
agent, desensitizing
agent etc.

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The products advertised as whitening tooth
pastes may contain an abrasive agent alone or
along with a chemical agent.

The former additive acts through a surface

stain removal mechanism, whereas the latter
acts through a combined action of abrasion &
bleaching.

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 COMPOSITION
A typical dentifrice comprises of the following
components:
Abrasive e.g. CaCo3, hydrated alumina/ silica
soda bicarb or a mixture of these.
purpose removal of plaque/stain & polish

Detergent e.g. Sodium lauryl sulfate

purpose aids in debris removal

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Colorants e.g. Food colors
purpose appearance

Flavoring e.g. Oils of spearmint, peppermint or

cinnamon
purpose flavor

Humectant e.g. Sorbitol, glycerin

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 purpose maintains moisture content

Water e.g. Deionized water

purpose diluting agent

Binder e.g. Carrageenan

purpose thickener, prevents liquid-solid
separation

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Fluoride e.g. Sodium monofluorophosphate
purpose prevents dental caries

Tartar control e.g. Disodium pyrophosphate

purpose inhibits formation of calculus
above gingival margin

Desensitizing e.g. Potassium nitrate

purpose promotes occlusion of dentinal

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 tubules.

The abrasive concentrations in paste & gel

dentifrices are 50 – 75% lower than those of
powder dentifrices. So powders should be
used more sparingly & with greater caution to
avoid excessive dentinal abrasion & pulpal
sensitivity.

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Factors Affecting Dentifrice Abrasiveness:
EXTRAORAL FACTORS

≈ Abrasive particle type, size, & quantity in the

dentifrice.
≈ Amount of dentifrice used.
≈ Toothbrush type.
≈ Toothbrush method & force applied during
brushing.

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≈ Toothbrushing frequency & duration.
≈ Patient’s coordination & mental status.
INTRAORAL FACTORS

≈ Saliva consistency & quantity.

≈ Xerostomia induced by drugs, gland pathology
or radiation therapy.

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≈ Dental deposits e.g. plaque, calculus
their presence, quantity & quality.
≈ Presence of restorative materials, dental
prostheses, & orthodontic appliances.

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2/22/2016
THANKYOU 24