Topography and surface roughness of fluid resins used as bioprotectors of mini-implants

Objective: The focus of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is difference between the surface roughness and topography of flow resins used as bioprotective materials of orthodontic mini-implants. Thirty test specimens (5 mm × 3 mm) of flow resins were used, divided into 3 groups (n = 10): Group W (Wave), Group TC (Top Comfort) and Group F (Filtek Z350 XT). Topographic analysis was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface roughness measurement by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). One-way analysis of variance ANOVA followed by the Tukey post hoc test were used for statistical evaluation (p .05). The hypothesis was partially accepted; it could be affirmed that the flow resin Filtek Z350 presented a lower degree of surface roughness, and had smaller and more uniformly distributed inorganic particles when compared with the Wave and Top Comfort resins.