Analysis of the electrolytically polished skeletal dentures surfaces using various nano- and microscopic technologies

PURPOSE: The surface roughness of the dental restorations is significant to the denture plaque adhesion. METHODS: In this work, we present the complex analysis of the electropolished CoCrW alloy remanium® star (Dentaurum, Germany) samples with laserengraved fiducial marks performed using complementary set of micro- and nanoscopic techniques: optical profilometry (OP), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling. RESULTS: Both mean and RMS roughness of the samples were reduced by electopolishing process, however, the results obtained using OP and AFM exhibited some discrepancies. This was caused by the relatively high local protruding defects developed on the processed surface. The cross-sections of the protrusions were made to analyze the cause of their formation as the EDS elemental content maps revealed that their composition was uniform. We also analyzed the local roughness in the smaller areas free from the defects. CONCLUSIONS: In that case, both OP and AFM techniques delivered the same results. Analysis of results showed that various methods used for the surface roughness evaluation have to be used simultaneously to obtain complete and true analysis of the technological CoCrW samples.