Introduction

 
Dental restorations are finished before placement
in the oral cavity to provide three benefits of
dental care:
1. Oral health
2. Function
3. Aesthetics.
 Definitions

• Craig , has defined abrasion as : “A process of

wear whereby a hard rough surface ( like a sand
paper disk ) or hard irregular shaped particles
( like those in a slurry ) plough grooves in a softer
material and cause materials from these grooves
to be removed from the surface”.

• Skinner has stated abrasion to be either a two

body process or a three body process.
•Finishing : The term finishing denotes to cut or
remove the excess . It is usually performed with
coarser abrasives when compared to polishing .

•Polishing : The use of progressively finer

abrasives to remove scratches and give a high
shine or luster to the material 
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
• 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
• Knoop and Vickers hardness tests
• 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
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
 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
1. Finishing abrasives
2. Polishing abrasives
3. Cleaning abrasives
• 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
• 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
• 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.
 Polishing

• Production of a smooth mirror like surface

without use of any external form.

•If the size of the abrasive is reduced sufficiently,

the scratches finally become extremely fine and
may disappear entirely.

•The surface then acquires a smooth shiny layer

referred by Skinner as a POLISH.
• Provides enamel like luster.
• Smaller particles provide smoother and shinier
surfaces
• Importance of polishing dental restorations
and teeth
• Less bacterial colonization

• Metallic restoration - prevention of tarnish and

corrosion
• Comfortable for the patient
The polished layer is thought of one made up of
minute crystals, thus know as the “Micro crystalline
layer or Beilby layer” which is easily kept clean and
has high corrosion resistance.
• 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
Finishing & polishing procedure of
Denture bases
• Aerosols – silica based materials (smaller than
5µm)
• Silicosis or grinders disease
• Precautions -adequate water spray, suction
-eyeware ,facemasks
-proper ventilation