Rapid 3 s curing: What happens in deep layers of new bulk-fill composites?

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of rapid 3 s light curing on the new generation of bulk-fill resin composites under the simulated aging challenge and depths up to 4 mm. Four bulk-fill materials were tested: two materials designed for rapid curing (Tetric PowerFill—PFILL; Tetric PowerFlow—PFLW) and two regular materials (Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative—FIL; SDR Plus Bulk Fill Flowable—SDR). Three-point bending (n = 10) was used to measure flexural strength (FS) and flexural modulus (FM). In the 3 s group, two 2 mm thick specimens were stacked to obtain 4 mm thickness, while 2 mm-thick specimens were used for ISO group. Specimens were aged for 1, 30, or 30 + 3 days in ethanol. The degree of conversion (DC) up to 4 mm was measured by Raman spectroscopy. There was no difference between curing protocols in FS after 1 day for all materials except PFLW. FM was higher for all materials for ISO curing protocol. Mechanical properties dete-riorated by increasing depth (2–4 mm) and aging. ISO curing induced higher DC for PFLW and FIL, while 3 s curing was sufficient for PFILL and SDR. The 3 s curing negatively affected FM of all tested materials, whereas its influence on FS and DC was highly material-specific.