Depth of cure of light-cured composite resin with light-curing units of different intensity.

An increase in light intensity is known to produce greater surface hardness of composite resin. The purpose of this study was to determine the depth of cure produced by two light-curing units with different light intensity outputs. Two light-curing units were selected, the one producing 600 mW/cm2 and the other 300 mW/cm2. Five metal plates with thicknesses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 mm were selected and 20 holes of 5 mm diameter were drilled through each plate. Each hole was slightly over filled with composite resin (Z100, 3M), covered with a polyester strip, compressed, and light-cured; 10 samples on each plate with the 300 mW/cm2 unit and 10 samples with the 600 mW/cm2 unit. The bases of all samples were subjected to Vickers Hardness testing immediately and one hour after curing. Results were analysed with the Student-t-test. There was a decrease in Vickers Hardness with every increase in depth. Significant differences were found between all the immediate and one hour groups, between the 300 and 600 mW/cm2 light intensities at 2 mm depth and the 2 mm and 3 mm groups. Increments of light-curing composite resin should not exceed 2 mm; optimal hardness only developed after one hour; at a depth of 2 mm an increase in light intensity produced a significant increase in Vickers Hardness; beyond 2 mm depth the increased light intensity did not produce a significant increase in Vickers Hardness.