Efficacy of a porcelain refinishing system in restoring surface finish after grinding with fine and extra-fine diamond burs.

Commercial porcelain refinishing kits are claimed to restore the surface finish on porcelain after adjustments in circumstances that preclude reglazing. This study investigates the efficacy of one such kit in restoring a Vitadur N porcelain surface finish after grinding with fine (30 microns grit-red band) and extra-fine (15 microns grit-yellow band) high-speed diamond burs. The production of the porcelain test samples, the refinishing procedures, and the refinishing times were standardized throughout. Techniques were selected to simulate clinical practice. Randomly selected examples of surfaces created during refinishing were subjected to scanning electron microscopy, using standard kV and tilt angle settings, and to surface profilometry tracings. Roughness average (Ra) readings were recorded for each test specimen for every surface finish. Ra readings were analyzed statistically using a two-way unbalanced model for analysis of variance. Although refinishing after grinding with a 15 microns grit bur produced surfaces significantly smoother than on specimens previously ground with the 30 microns grit burs, the surfaces remained significantly rougher than when originally glazed. It is concluded that, using the type of kit tested, burs of a grade finer than the existing 15 microns grit yellow band types would be appropriate for porcelain adjustments to permit subsequent refinishing to a surface smoothness comparable to the original glaze.