{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T05:19:23Z","timestamp":1787894363386,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Dent. Med."],"abstract":"\n Objectives<\/jats:title>\n \n This\n in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n study aimed to evaluate the effect of different scaling methods on the roughness of various resin composites used in anterior teeth.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n Seven commercially available resin composite materials were tested: 3M\u2122 Filtek\u2122 Z350 XT, Beautifil II, and Beautifil II LS, G-\u00e6nial Anterior, IPS Empress Direct, Tokuyama PALFIQUE LX5, Vittra APS FKG. Disc-shaped specimens (6\u2005mm in diameter and 2\u2005mm in thickness) were prepared using a 3D-printed mold. A total of 30 specimens per brand were fabricated and randomly divided into three sub-groups according to the scaling technique: stainless-steel hand scaler (metal scaling), plastic hand scaler (plastic scaling), and piezoelectric ultra-sonic scaler tip (ultra-sonic scaling). Baseline surface roughness values were measured using a non-contact optical profilometer. Each specimen was then subjected to 40 scaling strokes, and post-scaling surface roughness was remeasured using the same method. The change in average surface roughness was calculated. Two and One-way ANOVA with Tukey's\n post hoc<\/jats:italic>\n test analyzed the data (\n \u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n = 0.05).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Both scaler method and resin composite type were determinant factors (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.001) in modulating the roughness of resin composite restorations. Metal scaling consistently produced the greatest surface roughness change (\n \u0394<\/jats:italic>\n Ra, \u00b5m) across all composites, with G-\u00e6nial Anterior recording the highest\n \u0394<\/jats:italic>\n Ra value (2.23\u2009\u00b1\u20090.91\u2005\u00b5m) and IPS Empress Direct the lowest (1.23\u2009\u00b1\u20090.82\u2005\u00b5m). Plastic scaling resulted in the least\n \u0394<\/jats:italic>\n Ra across all materials (range: 0.00\u20130.10\u2005\u00b5m), with IPS Empress Direct recording the highest change (0.10\u2009\u00b1\u20090.08\u2005\u00b5m) and G-\u00e6nial Anterior and Tokuyama PALFIQUE LX5 revealing almost no change. Ultra-sonic scaling produced intermediate roughness change, with G-\u00e6nial Anterior again recording the highest value (1.61\u2009\u00b1\u20090.98\u2005\u00b5m). Metal scaling produced significantly higher\n \u0394<\/jats:italic>\n Ra than both plastic and ultra-sonic methods in most resin composites (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.05), while plastic and ultra-sonic groups were largely comparable.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Within the limitations of the study, plastic scalers caused the least surface alteration and may be considered the most conservative option for maintaining the surface smoothness of resin composites.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fdmed.2026.1894177","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T04:33:43Z","timestamp":1787891623000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of different scaling instruments on the roughness of esthetic resin composite restorations: an in vitro study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Abdulkareem","family":"Alhumaidan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Turki","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shahad T.","family":"Alameer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dhai","family":"Albishri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Al Madani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental Hospital, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed","family":"Al Qranei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hoda","family":"Albaqawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University","place":["Dammam, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulrahman 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