Evaluation of two disinfection/sterilization methods on silicon rubber-based composite finishing instruments.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of disinfection/sterilization methods and their effects on polishing capacity, micomorphology, and composition of two different composite fiishing and polishing instruments.

METHODS

Two brands of finishing and polishing instruments (Jiffy and Optimize), were analyzed. For the antimicrobial test, 60 points (30 of each brand) were used for polishing composite restorations and submitted to three different groups of disinfection/sterilization methods: none (control), autoclaving, and immersion in peracetic acid for 60 minutes. The in vitro tests were performed to evaluate the polishing performance on resin composite disks (Amelogen) using a 3D scanner (Talyscan) and to evaluate the effects on the points' surface composition (XRF) and micromorphology (MEV) after completing a polishing and sterilizing routine five times.

RESULTS

Both sterilization/disinfection methods were efficient against oral cultivable organisms and no deleterious modification was observed to point surface.