Effect of different light sources on degree of conversion, hardness and plasticization of a composite

Abstract

Clinical performance of composite resins depends largely on their mechanical properties, and those are influenced by several factors, such as the light-curing mode. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of different light sources on degree of conversion (DC), Knoop hardness (KHN) and plasticization (P) of a composite resin. Disc-shaped specimens (5 x 2 mm) of Esthet-X (Dentsply) methacrylate-based microhybrid composite were light-cured using quartz-tungsten-halogen (QTH) Optilight Plus (Gnatus) or light-emitting diode (LED) Ultraled (Dabi Atlante) curing units at 400 and 340 mW/cm2 of irradiance, respectively. After 24 h, absorption spectra of composite were obtained using Nexus 670 (Nicolet) FT-IR spectrometer in order to calculate the DC. The KHN was measured in the HMV-2000 (Shimadzu) microhardness tester under 50 g loads for 15 s, and P was evaluated by percentage reduction of hardness after 24 h of alcohol storage. Data were subjected to t-Student test (alpha = 0.05). QTH device showed lower P and higher KHN than LED (p < 0.05), and no difference between the light-curing units was found for DC (p > 0.05). The halogen-curing unit with higher irradiance promoted higher KHN and lower softening in alcohol than LED.