Smear layer is formed on the dentin surface very easily; and removal of it may be challenging.
How can we check the presence/absence of smear layer on dentin? What kind of clinical, chemical, physical and surface mechanical characterization can we do?
In the field of surface analysis, there are several techniques that could help. Many SEMs have an EDS attachment that can detect elements on a surface. This is good if the "smear" layer has elements that are different from the dentin. Another technique is XPS or ESCA. This is somewhat similar to EDS but has much higher energy resolution. This can detect elements on a surface and differentiate by valence. Another technique is ToF-SIMS. This is a surface-sensitive mass spectroscopic technique that can provide molecular weight information regarding what species are sputtered from a surface during analysis. XPS and ToF-SIMS are expensive instruments and much rarer than SEM with EDS. There are contract laboratories that can do this work, but the cost is high (~$1000/sample). If your resources are limited, then you might try to find an academic institution that has such capability and attempt to collaborate.
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