Impact of Finishing and Polishing Procedures on CAD/CAM In Vitro Milled Ceramics Surfaces: A Systematic Review.

Introduction and objectives: CAD/CAM prostheses may be produced in prosthetic laboratories or directly by practitioners. Quality of ceramic polishing procedures is a controversial topic and it would be interesting for practitioners working with CAD/CAM devices to determine which method is the most efficient regarding finishing and polishing. This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of different finishing and polishing procedures on the surface of milled ceramics.

Materials and methods: A precise request was launched on the PubMed database. Studies included if they met the criteria of a specifically prepared PICO search. A first selection was performed by analysing titles and abstracts: the articles presenting a study conducted on non-CAD/CAM milled ceramics and research not containing comparisons of finishing procedures were not included. Roughness was evaluated in 15 articles. Nine papers recommended mechanical polishing over glazing regardless of the type of ceramic used. However, no significant differences were detected between the surface roughness of glazed and polished ceramics in nine other publications.

Conclusions: there is no scientific evidence demonstrating the superiority of hand polishing over glazing on CAD/CAM-milled ceramics.