The potential for intrapulpal temperature rise may vary among different types of light sources. Objective: The in vitro intrapulpal temperature rise of dental light-curing sources was tested with and without curing composite in the preparation site. Methods: A K-type thermocouple was placed on the facial pulp chamber wall in opposition to the axial wall of a facial Class V preparation (1 mm remaining dentin thickness) in an extracted, bifurcated upper human bicuspid. Temperature-controlled water flowed through the pulp chamber at a fixed rate. Temperature rise was digitally recorded with respect to time. Peak temperature was determined from exposure to dental curing lights (quartz-tungsten-halogen (QTH); plasma-arc (PAC); light emitting diode (LED)) using either the bare preparation, or with light-curing composite in the void (EsthetX A2). Statistics: n=5 trials per condition, 1-way ANOVA, Tukey-Kramer post hoc, significance: p < 0.05. Results: Within a column, similar letters connect statistically equivalent values:

Light unit	Unit type	Exposure duration (s)	Max Rise (° C) no composite	Max Rise (° C) with composite
CoolBlu	LED	10	1.8 ± 0.1a	4.9 ± 0.1a
CoolBlu	LED	20	2.4 ± 0.1b	5.2 ± 0.2b
PowerPAC	PAC	10	22.1 ± 2.2d	12.4 ± 1.0c
Optilux 501	QTH	40	7.1 ± 0.6c	8.3 ± 0.2d

Conclusion: LED showed lowest temperature rise, and the temperature increased when curing composite within the preparation. PAC produced greatest peak rise value followed by QTH, and in both light types, temperature rise with composite was lower than without.

Back to the Dental Materials: VIII - Others-Non-metallic Program
Back to the IADR/AADR/CADR 80th General Session (March 6-9, 2002)

Top Level Search