Effects of Light-Curing Techniques on Dental Resins - A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Commonly used dental resin composites are used as dental filling materials with the help of light induced polymerization reaction. The purpose of this cross-sectional research was to compare the results of different light intensities on the hardness of different dental composites. Following light treatment units were used.

QTH also called Quartz Tungsten Halogen

LED also called Light Emitting Diodes

Methods: This one-month cross-sectional, in-vitro study was carried out in the Dental Materials Laboratory in Saudi Arabia. Using non-probability, convenient sampling, a single trained operator prepared 60 dental restorative composites (DRC) samples in steel molds with a diameter of 10mm and each mold was 2mm thick. During the polymerization of DRCs, the effects of light intensities, sorption and solubility, and microhardness were all measured. SPSS was used for statistical analysis and a p-value of <0.05 was declared striking.

Results: When QTH and LED lamps were used, the average micro hardness of DRC was estimated to be 15.480.46 and 18.260.53, respectively. The mean light intensity of QTH was 434 mW/cm2 and for LED lights it was 925mW/cm2. There was no notable difference in DRC sorption and solubility capability (p=0.001) during the polymerization reaction (p=0.128).

Conclusion: When it came to increasing the surface micro hardness of DRC, LED light was found to be more effective than QTH light.