Effect of exposure time on the color stability of resin-based restorative materials when polymerized with quartz–tungsten halogen and LED light

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of exposure time on color stability of resin-based restorative materials when polymerized with quartz-tungsten halogen light (QTH) or light-emitting diode light (LED). Eight samples of Ceram-X Mono, Dyract eXtra, and Tetric EvoCeram each were cured for 10, 20, and 60 s with QTH or LED. The CIE-Lab values (L*, a*, b*) were measured prior to and after performing water storage or a Suntest, and ΔL, Δa, Δb, and ΔE were calculated. Statistical analysis (p < 0.05) showed significant changes of the color values after each of the aging processes as well as between ΔL, Δa, Δb, and ΔE of the materials in dependence of the curing device, exposure time, aging condition, and material formulation. LED performed similarly or even better with 10-s exposure time than QTH with 20 s. No improvement of color stability was achieved with increasing exposure time of 60 s either for LED or for QTH. Exposure time, emission spectrum of the light-curing device, as well as the individual material formulation influence color stability. There is apparently an exposure time above which the individual material formulation, especially type and amount of photoinitiator or synergist, dominate the color stability.