The effect of surface sealant application and accelerated aging on posterior restorative surfaces: An SEM and AFM study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surface sealant application and 10,000 thermocycles on the surface roughness and microhardness of different resin composite systems. A micro-hybrid (G Aenial Posterior), a nano-hybrid (Clearfil Majesty Posterior), a nano-fill (Filtek Ultimate Universal Restorative, Enamel Shade), and a bulk-fill resin composite (Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative) were used for the study. Specimens were evaluated at 24 h, after application of the surface sealant Fortify Plus, and after thermocycling. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a posthoc Bonferroni test (p<0.05). Surface roughness values of G Aenial Posterior and Filtek Ultimate Universal Restorative increased significantly after surface sealant application. However, neither surface sealant application nor thermocycling had a significant effect on composite microhardness values except Filtek Ultimate Universal Restorative (p>0.05).