Temperatures in the pulpal cavity during orthodontic bonding using an LED light curing unit : An in vitro pilot study

During bracket bonding, patients often report about thermosensitivity. The reason could be that modern light emitting diode (LED) light curing units run with intensities up to 3200 mW/cm². In this in vitro pilot study with nonpulpal circulation approaches, the temperatures in the pulpal cavity were measured.

The study included 60 extracted teeth divided into four equal groups: lower and upper incisors, premolars and molars. Starting at 37 °C (body temperature) as the reference, the temperature increase was measured for the first series on each tooth without a bracket, without and with a recommended hygienic barrier case for the LED light curing unit, and exposition to light once versus twice. The distance between the tooth and light curing unit was 3 mm. In the second test series, a metal bracket was also bonded to each tooth. In the third series, the light exposition distance was increased to 4 mm.

In all three test series, significant intrapulpal temperature increase was found: The highest temperatures were recorded after exposure to light once without the hygienic barrier case. In the first test series, this approach showed temperatures even higher than 42.5 °C in the lower incisors (average 42.99 ± 2.23 °C) and premolars (average 42.94 ± 2.15 °C).

Significant increases in the temperature of the pulpal cavity (up to 42.5 °C) may occur during bonding brackets according to the manufacturer's recommendation with an LED light curing unit with in vitro nonpulpal circulation approaches. Therefore it could be reasonable to critically question the recommendation of the manufacturer.