Effect of Bleaching Method and Curing Time on the Surface Microhardness of Microhybrid Composite Resin

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of curing time and bleaching agents on microhybrid composite resin surface microhardness. Material and method: A total of 180 microhybrid composite resin disks were divided into two groups in terms of curing time: 40 s, 60 s. Then, each group was divided into three subgroups: control (distilled water), home bleaching (15% carbamide peroxide) and office bleaching (40% hydrogen peroxide). Surface microhardness of the samples was determined by using Vickers hardness test both at baseline and after the completion of the tests. Two-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests were used to analyze and compare microhardness changes between groups. Statistical significance was defined at P<0.05. Results: Based on the two-way ANOVA, curing time, bleaching method, and cumulative effect of these two variables significantly affected composite resin microhardness (P<0.001). Tukey HSD tests showed that microhardness had significantly decreased in the bleaching groups, with the highest decrease when the office bleaching method was used (P<0.001). The samples cured for 40 s exhibited lower microhardness than those cured for 60 s and had an increased reduction in microhardness after bleaching (P<0.001). Conclusions: Application of both bleaching methods decreased the surface hardness of microhybrid composite resin. An increase in the curing time was associated with a decrease in adverse effects of bleaching agents on microhardness.