SURFACE DEGRADATION OF GALLIUM-ALLOYS DURING TOOTH BRUSHING IN VITRO

When the exposure surface of restoration is brushed with various toothpaste in the mouth, wear or undesirable surface deposit of restoration can occur. Surface change of gallium alloys according to brushing and toothpaste may directly affect oral hygiene. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface alterations of Gallium alloys during tooth brushing with different prophylactic agents. Two gallium-alloys and an amalgam as a control were investigated. Without and with brushing were applied with three kinds of prophylactic agents on the sample for 0, 1, 5, 10, 60 and 360 minutes. At each time interval, surface roughness was recorded by a profilometer and some pictures were taken by a SEM. All results were analyzed by the one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey multiple comparisons and the simple linear regression analysis. The results indicate that gallium alloys are more susceptible to surface degradation during tooth brushing than amalgam with respect to the specific prophylactic agent used.