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Effect of extended light activation and increment thickness on physical properties of conventional and bulk-filled resin-based composites

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Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the biaxial flexural strength (BFS), flexural modulus (BFM), and Knoop microhardness (KHN) of incremental and bulk-filled resin-based composites (RBCs) using extended curing exposure times.

Materials and methods

Disc specimens (n = 8; 6-mm diameter) were fabricated using three stacked molds (0.5-mm thick for the top and bottom molds, and a 1-mm-thick center mold for the conventional and 3-mm thick for the bulk-fill RBCs). Conventional (Tetric EvoCeram/TCE and Filtek Z250/FIZ) and bulk-fill RBCs (Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill/TBF and Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative/FOB) were evaluated. The stacked RBC-filled molds were light-cured for (1) the manufacturer-recommended exposure (MRE) duration; (2) 50%, and (3) 100% extension of the MRE. The BFS, BFM, and KHN of the top and bottom discs were measured. BFS and BFM were analyzed by three-way ANOVA (material*curing time*depth) and Tukey’s post hoc (α = 0.05). KHN was analyzed by two-way ANOVA (curing time*depth) and Tukey’s post hoc (α = 0.05).

Results

Extending the exposure duration did not change the BFS and BFM on the top of the RBCs, but the BFS and KHN increased at the bottom of bulk-fill RBCs. For the conventional RBCs, TCE showed the highest increase on BFS at the bottom, going from 53.6 MPa at T1 to 69.9 at T3. Among the bulk-fill RBCs, FOB presented the highest increase on the bottom BFS (T1: 101.0 ± 19.9 MPa, T3: 147.6 ± 12.9 MPa). For all RBCs and exposure times, BFS and KHN were lower at the bottom. Only FIZ and FOB reached a bottom-to-top hardness ratio of 80%, at T3 and T2.

Conclusion

A significant increase on the BFS and KHN on the bottom of bulk-fill RBCs can be observed when the time of exposure to the curing light is double the MRE. However, extended exposure does not eliminate differences on the BFS and KHN between the shallow and deep regions of RBCs. TCE and TBF failed to reach an acceptable B/T hardness ratio at all evaluated exposure times.

Clinical relevance

Mechanical properties of RBCs can be affected by insufficient polymerization, specially at deeper regions of the increment. Therefore, clinicians should consider applying twice the MRE to curing-light to polymerize the maximal increment thickness of bulk-fill RBCs.

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Funding

This project was partially supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP grant #2017/04348–2), and by the University of Costa Rica (grant number OAICE-047–2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Restorative Dentistry – Operative Dentistry Division, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Av. Limeira, 901 – Bairro Areião, Piracicaba, SP, 13414-903, Brazil

    Beatriz Curvello de Mendonça, Jorge Rodrigo Soto-Montero, Eduardo Fernandes de Castro, Matheus Kury, Vanessa Cavalli & Marcelo Giannini

  2. Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Costa Rica, School of Dentistry, Montes de Oca, SJ, Costa Rica

    Jorge Rodrigo Soto-Montero

  3. Department of Restorative Sciences, Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Frederick Allen Rueggeberg

Authors
  1. Beatriz Curvello de Mendonça
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  2. Jorge Rodrigo Soto-Montero
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  3. Eduardo Fernandes de Castro
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  4. Matheus Kury
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  5. Vanessa Cavalli
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  6. Frederick Allen Rueggeberg
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  7. Marcelo Giannini
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Contributions

B de Mendonça contributed to conceptualization and performed data acquisition and curation. J Soto-Montero was consulted on methodology, performed the statistical analysis, and wrote the original draft. E de Castro provided data acquisition and software management and edited the manuscript. M Kury contributed to data curation and supervision and proofread the manuscript. V Cavalli contributed to project administration, resources, and software and reviewed and edited the manuscript. F Rueggeberg contributed to conceptualization, funding acquisition, investigation, and supervision and proofread the manuscript. M Giannini contributed to conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition, project administration, and supervision and proofread and edited the original manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcelo Giannini.

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de Mendonça, B.C., Soto-Montero, J.R., de Castro, E.F. et al. Effect of extended light activation and increment thickness on physical properties of conventional and bulk-filled resin-based composites. Clin Oral Invest 26, 3141–3150 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-021-04296-7

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