Effect of curing method and curing time on the microhardness and wear of pit and fissure sealants.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of a light source, polymerization time and storage time on the microhardness and wear of pit and fissure sealants.


METHODS
Five commercial pit and fissure sealants (Fissurit F [FF], Teethmate F1 [TF], Apollo Seal [AS], Concise [CC], and Ultraseal XT Plus [US]) were used. Specimens were cured with a conventional visible light curing unit (Curing Light XL 3000) for 10, 20, 30, 40s or with a plasma arc light curing unit (Apollo 95E) for 3, 6, 9, 12s. The specimens were kept dry in light-shielded bottles at 37 degrees C for 1 week, then half of them were thermocycled. The rest of them were stored in distilled water in light-shielded bottles for another 30 days, which were kept in an incubator at 37 degrees C, followed by thermocycling. Microhardness and wear of the specimens were measured.


RESULTS
Similar degree of microhardness was achieved with the shorter curing time with the plasma arc light curing unit as with the conventional visible light-curing unit. With conventional visible light curing, the microhardness of the top surface was higher than that of the bottom surface (P<0.05). With plasma arc light curing, the microhardness of the top surface was higher than that of the bottom surface for AS and CC, but for FF, TF and US, the microhardness of the top surface was lower than that of the bottom surface, except in the 3-s curing of US. For FF, AS, CC and US, wear in the 6s curing with plasma arc light was similar to or less than that of the 30s curing with conventional visible light, but for TF, wear of the 9s curing with plasma arc light was similar to that of the 20s curing with conventional visible light. After storage in distilled water for 30 days followed by thermocycling, there was a tendency towards a decrease in microhardness and an increase in wear. There was a significant negative correlation between microhardness and wear (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The tested curing methods differed significantly in their curing capacity. This study suggested that a plasma arc light curing unit needs shorter curing time than a visible light curing unit to achieve similar mechanical properties of the pit and fissure sealants tested.
Kim
Jung Wook
JW
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Seoul National University, 28-2, Yeongun-dong, Chongno-ku, Seoul 110-744, South Korea. pedoman@snu.ac.kr
Jang
Ki Taeg
KT
Lee
Sang Hoon
SH
Kim
Chong Chul
CC
Hahn
Se Hyun
SH
García-Godoy
Franklin
F
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D003188:Composite Resins; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D003188:Composite Resins; C407603:Fissurit F; D008689:Methacrylates; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants; D011108:Polymers; C106663:Ultra Seal XT; C099291:teethmate-FTM; D014867:Water; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate