Effect of Distance from Curing Light Tip to Restoration Surface on Depth of Cure of Composite Resin

Abstract

While light-activating composite resins, the light tip may not always be close to the surface of the restoration. This may be intentional in an attempt to create a ramp cure. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a range of separation distances between the light tip and the restoration surface on the depth of composite cure for different types of light-curing units with a broad range of outputs. Three halogen light units, one plasma arc-curing (PAC) light unit and two light-emitting diode (LED) curing lights in clinical use were tested, and a total of 570 restorations cured in a two-part human tooth model at separations ranging from 0 to 15 mm. The tooth was disassembled and depth of cure determined using the scrape test ISO 4049. Light intensity was also measured at each separation distance for each light. The depth of cure was generally found to decrease as the separation distance increased for all lights at the various cure times. However, the effect of increasing the separation distance was less than anticipated. The depth of cure was also related to the light output. Depth of composite cure was directly related to intensity and duration of light exposure and inversely related to distance of the light source from the surface for halogen and plasma lights. However, the effect of increasing the separation distance up to 15 mm was less than expected. Altering the separation distance in order to modify the polymerisation characteristics is unlikely to be effective.