Objectives: Recently translucent fiber posts have been introduced into the market and they can be luted into the root canal using a flowable composite resin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a translucent fiber post to transmit in depth the curing light through the root canal. Methods: We evaluated the conversion of a composite resin using the high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Vickers hardness. Materials tested were: FotoTech (Carbotech - Fr), Luscent Anchors (Dentatus - Sw) and Tetric Flow transparent (Vivadent). Posts (1,6 mm diam.) were inserted (11 mm) and luted into standardized cylindrical teflon mold, extracted and cut using a diamond saw. Three cross-sections for HPLC and longitudinal for Vickers analysis. Curing times were 30/60/90/120 seconds (Vip - Bisco Inc., USA). HPLC: samples were stored in pure methanol (1 mg/ml) for 20 min. at room temperature. The eluted monomer components were separated from filler particles and polymerized composite by centrifugation and the resulting solutions were analyzed to determine the concentration of Bis-GMA, UEDMA and TEGDMA monomers. Vickers: a load of 50 gr for 30 seconds was applied. Results: ANOVA analysis evidenced a significat difference, in terms of residual unpolymerized monomers and Vickers hardness, between the samples cured only in the third section. Conclusion: 120 seconds can be considered a sufficient curing time for all the posts tested. Further studies are needed to compare different composite resins brands or alternative curing light sources (plasma or xenon).

Back to the Dental Materials: VIII - Others-Non-metallic Program
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