Photopolymerization of composite resins with plasma light

Everyday improvements in components and characteristics of composite materials have induced faster development of curing units. Besides standard halogen curing units and soft-start photopolymerization light sources, some experiments with argon and pulsed laser light and low intensity blue superbright light emitting diodes have been made. On the other hand, rapid polymerization with strong plasma light is also clinically applicable. The aim of this study was to measure the degree of conversion and temperature rise for three restorative composite materials: Tetric Ceram (Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), Pertac II (ESPE, Seefeld, Germany) and Z100 (3M Dental Products, St Paul, MN, USA) during polymerization with plasma light Apollo 95E (DMDS, Dental/Medical Diagnostic Systems, Fleury d'Aude, France) and compare it with the results of polymerization with a halogen curing unit, Elipar Trilight (ESPE, Seefeld, Germany). The results revealed the degree of conversion values in the case of polymerization with plasma light to be almost equal to those obtained by curing with the halogen curing unit, whereas the temperature rise was almost negligible.