The optimum way to polish composite materials in the physician’s consulting room and in the dental laboratory remains an open question. The authors analyzed the surface of samples of laboratory composites after polishing. Different ways of polishing of the hybrid glass polymer Artglass and a more recent microfilled glass polymer Signum produced by Heraeus-Kulzer were compared. The roughness of surface was measured by the method of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). At the level of AFM the microfilled glass polymer Signum proved to be polished better than the Artglass material. In the samples of glass polymer composite Artglass polished with the Opal paste or a combination of the HP paste and the polishing suspension Sitol, better results were reached than with the polishing by the HP paste recommended by the producer. The time polishing played a positive role in the quality of polished sample.

        Key words: composite resins – polyglas – dental polishing – atomic force microscopy (AFM)