Assessment of superficial rugosity of cast titanium in fluoride solutions and artificial salive

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the superficial rugosity of commercially pure titanium cast, under the action of different fluoride dental solutions and synthetic saliva. All specimens received the standard metallography procedure for titanium and were divided in groups: Group 1) synthetic saliva pH 7.0; Group 2) 1.23% APF gel pH 3.5;, Group 3) 2% NaF gel pH 6; Group 4) 0.05% NaF solution pH 4.0; and Group 5) 0.05% NaF solution pH 7.5. The specimens were exposed to these solutions for 16 minutes and immersed in synthetic saliva for 96 hours. The surfaces were analyzed in a roughness device and the results were statistically treated - Snededor 'F' and Bonferroni test. In addition, scanning electron microscopy was employed to observe the surface morphology after the test. The Group 2 was the only one which had a significant increase in the superficial roughness. Authors concluded that the fluoride solutions of dental use that have a high concentration of fluoride and low pH are harmful to the surface of cast titanium.