Polishing of denture base acrylic resin with chairside polishing kits: an SEM and surface roughness study.

Heat-cured acrylic resin specimens were polished using either conventional laboratory polishing, sandpaper, or three commercial chairside kits. The surface roughness of the polished specimens was measured with a contact profilometer. Scanning electron microscopy was used to obtain microphotographs of the polished surfaces. Laboratory polishing produced the smoothest surfaces in all cases, while sandpaper application produced the roughest. Use of the chairside polishing kits resulted in significantly rougher surfaces compared to those produced by laboratory polishing. Nonetheless, polishing of trimmed denture bases using chairside polishing kits is an effective alternative procedure for cases in which the laboratory procedure is not applicable.