Desgaste superficial do esmalte dental após microabrasão in vitro

The aim of this study was to investigate the enamel wear permanent teeth after plastic stick or low speed rubber cup microabrasion. Ten permanent molars were selected to evaluate enamel wear which were sectioned into mesial and distal halves. Each half of the molars was randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups (n = 10) according to the enamel microabrasion technique: plastic stick (GE) or rubber cup (GT). In both the groups, the enamel was submitted to 10 applications of an abrasive paste comprised of 35% phosphoric acid and pumice powder. The paste was applied for 20 seconds under a pressure of 30 g using the instrument defined for each group (plastic stick or rubber cup). The specimens were evaluated under a stereomicroscope connected to a computer. The enamel wear no was statistically different between GE and GT, which presented a mean wear of 304.74 µm (21.20%) and 338.35 µm (22.75%). In conclusion, superficial enamel wear was seen for both the groups, independent of the technique used for the accomplishment of the microabrasion.