An evaluation of finishing instruments for an anterior and a posterior composite.

The same finishing instruments and techniques revealed no significant differences in the surface roughness of the anterior and posterior composites. The smoothest surface was achieved with Mylar strips; the smoothest instrumented surface was achieved with a series of abrasive disks, but a fine diamond bur with 25 micron particles produced the roughest surface. However, an x-fine diamond with 15 micron particles produced a surface smoothness superior to that produced with a white stone and similar to the smoothness produced with a carbide bur and rubber point. Diamond finishing with slow speed produced a somewhat smoother finish than with high speed. SEM analysis revealed qualitative differences in surface texture even though the average roughness was not shown to differ.