Properties of dual-curable luting composites polymerized with single and dual curing modes

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of visible-light exposure on water absorption, solubility and colour stability of dual-curable luting composites. Using eight dual-curable luting composites (2bond2, Bistite II, G-CERA Cosmotech II, Imperva Dual, Linkmax, Lute-It, Panavia Fluoro Cement and Variolink II), disk specimens were prepared by the following two methods: (i) dual-cured specimens; exposed with visible-light from a light-curing unit, and (ii) chemical-cured specimens; chemically polymerized without exposure. Five specimens were produced for each material and curing mode. Water absorption and solubility were determined according to standardized testing methods, and the data were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contrasts. With regard to colour stability, the colour difference (DeltaE*) values between 24 h and the other immersion periods (1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks) were calculated and then analysed by repeated measure ANOVA. The dual-cured specimens exhibited significantly lower solubility values than the chemical-cured specimens except for the Lute-It material. The dual-cured Linkmax material exhibited the lowest solubility (0.51 +/- 0.01 microg mm(-3)) and the lowest DeltaE* value after 24 weeks (2.64 +/- 0.39). The dual-curable luting composites should be light-exposed after seating of restorations in order to reduce water absorption and solubility, and to improve colour stability.