Fig 3. SEM analysis of the in vitro tested surfaces prior to microbiological procedures.

A, B, C, and D, show 500X magnifications of machined, grit-blasted, laser-treated and enamel surfaces. E, F, G, and H, show the same surfaces at 5000X magnification. Grooves were present on the machined titanium surfaces, grit-blasted specimens showed characteristic surfaces with high SR, and laser-treatment left very regular microtextured surface with pits of 18–20 μm diameter.