Evaluation of the effect of surface roughness on streptococcus mutans adhesion in different aesthetic restorative material

Aim: The surface roughness values of tooth-colored restorative materials that as a result of different finishing and polishing processes and the number of S.mutans that adhere to the material surface were determined and it is aimed to evaluate the correlation between surface roughness and S.mutans adhesion. Material and Method: A total of 126 samples, 21 from each of the four different composite resins (nanofil based 3M Filtek™ Ultimate Universal Restorative, mikrohibrit based 3M Filtek™ Z250, nanohibrit based Tokuyama Estelite Asteria ve nanoseramik based Dentsply Ceram.x Duo) and two different resin-modified glass ionomer cement materials (3M Photac Fil Quick Aplicap, GC Fuji 2 LC Capsule) we used in the study, were prepared as discs of 8mm diameter and 2mm thickness. 7 samples of the polystyrene material used as the control group were taken from SEPAR Plastik AS. 21 samples prepared from each test material were divided into three groups of 7 and a different set of finishing and polishing discs (3M Sof-Lex, Kerr Optidisk, Shofu SuperSnap) was applied to each group in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. In order to facilitate bacterial adhesion on the samples whose surface roughness was measured, they were kept with artificial saliva containing mucin for 1 hour and pellicle was formed on the material surface. After pellicle formation, solutions containing S.mutans were added to the samples and incubated for 24 hours at 35-37°C to ensure adhesion. At the end of 24 hours, S.mutans that showed adhesion to the restorative specimens were counted. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the materials in terms of surface roughness values (p<0.05); but there was no significant difference between the finishing and polishing disc sets (p>0.05). The maximum surface roughness showed 3M Photac Fil Quick Aplicap. Among the restorative materials, nanohybrid based Tokuyama Estelite Asteria composite resin showed the least surface roughness. A statistically significant difference was found between the materials in terms of bacterial adhesion (p<0.05); but there was no significant difference between the finishing and polishing disc sets (p>0.05). The nanoceramic based Dentsply Ceram.x Duo composite resin was the material that was most exposed to S.mutans adhesion in all finishing and polishing disc sets. Among the restorative materials, Tokuyama Estelite Asteria composite resin showed the least S.mutans adhesion. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, there was no statistically significant difference between the three different finishing and polishing systems in terms of the effect on surface roughness and S.mutans adhesion (p>0.05). A low-power positive correlation of 26.2% was detected between the surface roughness of the materials and the adhesion of S.mutans (p<0.05). Keywords: Composite resin, resin-modified glass ionomer cement, surface roughness, S.mutans adhesion