Root surface roughness in response to periodontal instrumentation studied by combined use of microroughness measurements and scanning electron microscopy

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Root surface roughness, resulting from calculus removal by hand curette, ultrasonic curette and rotating diamond or Roto-Pro points, was examined by combined use of microroughness measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mandibular incisors were placed in a jaw model with a rubber "gingiva" in an attempt to simulate a clinical situation. After cleaning with the various instruments, the surface roughness was measured by an industrial profilometer followed by SEM evaluation. A microroughness index (MRI) was developed and showed that the instruments could be separated into three groups, where the hand curette produced least roughness, followed by the Roto-Pro instrument, while the ultrasonic curette and the diamond left the most uneven surfaces. A SEM roughness index (SRI) based on defined criteria, corresponded well with the results from the profilometer measurements, except that using this index the diamond scored higher than the ultrasonic curette. This was probably due to considerable calculus remnants remaining in the ultrasonic specimens. Characteristic features of the root surface morphology of the cleaned teeth are described. It is concluded that the combined use of microroughness measurements and SEM is of considerable value in this type of studies since more information may be obtained than by any of these methods used separately.