RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe roughness and gloss alterations of enamel after treatment with 38% hydrogen peroxide (HP) and after polishing with 2% neutral sodium fluoride (SF) or a dental tooth paste containing nanohydroxiapatite particles (nHA) using power spectral density (PSD) description, roughness parameters (Ra, RMS, and Z range) and gloss analysis. METHODS: An atomic force microscope (AFM) and a spectrophotometer were used to analyze eighteen specimens of upper incisors. After initial analyses, all specimens were bleached with 38% HP for 135 min. The specimens were analyzed after bleaching. Nine specimens were polished with SF (Group Fluor) and the other nine specimens were polished with nHA (Group nHA), then all specimens were analyzed after polishing. Roughness and gloss were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey's t-test. RESULTS: No statistical difference was found for Ra and RMS among initial, after bleaching and after polishing in both groups. For Z range, Group nHA showed a significant decrease after polishing. Bleaching with 38% HP did not increase the PSD in the spatial frequency of the visible light spectrum range in both groups. After polishing, nHA group showed a decrease in PSD for all morphological wavelengths. Gloss did not show statistical difference after bleaching in both groups. Gloss showed significant increase after polishing with nHA. SIGNIFICANCE: bleaching treatment with 38% HP didn't alter enamel surface roughness or gloss. PSD analyses were very suitable to identifying the morphological changes on the surfaces.