Effect of the LED lamp charge on the polymerization depth of a Bulk Fill resin

Abstract

Introduction. In the field of dentistry, the use of light-curing composite resins has grown to meet this demand. Objective. Determine the influence of the battery charge of an LED lamp on the depth of cure of a Bulk Fill resin. Methodology. An experimental study in vitro used 105 samples of Bulk Fill composite resin blocks, conformed into three groups. Each group consisted of 35 samples, with the lamp loaded at 100 %, 50 %, and 10 % of its maximum capacity, respectively. A stainless steel matrix was fabricated according to the ISO standard specifications in 20 seconds. The removal of unpolymerized material was performed using the scraping test technique, resulting in polymerized (hardened) resin blocks, which were subsequently measured with a certified and calibrated digital micrometer. Results. The battery level significantly influenced the groups (p < 0.01), decreasing the polymerization depth as the load level decreased. Conclusion. The different battery levels of the wireless LED curing unit did influence the depth of polymerization.