Pulp chamber temperature increase from curing light units: an in vitro study

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Dental curing lights are essential for polymerizing light-curable resins.
• Minimizing heat generation during polymerization is crucial to prevent pulpal damage.
• Different curing technologies, including halogen, plasma arc, and various light-emitting diode (LED) units, exhibit varying thermal outputs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the temperature increases in the pulp chamber induced by different dental curing light technologies.
• To evaluate the thermal effects of halogen, plasma arc, conventional LED, and a new generation VALO LED curing unit (in extra power mode).

Main Methods:

• Preparation of Class I cavities in 80 extracted human third molars.
• Restoration of cavities with a microhybrid composite resin.
• Measurement of pulp chamber temperature changes using a thermocouple wire during composite polymerization.

Main Results:

• Halogen curing units produced the highest temperature increase (3.2°C).
• Plasma arc curing resulted in a 2.07°C rise.
• VALO LED curing (extra power mode) caused a 1.44°C rise, while conventional LED curing showed the lowest increase (1.01°C).

Conclusions:

• No statistically significant difference in pulp chamber temperature rise was observed between conventional LED and VALO LED curing units in extra power mode.
• Both conventional and VALO LED curing units demonstrate favorable thermal profiles compared to halogen and plasma arc units.