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Thermographic measurement of temperature change during resin composite polymerization in vivo
D L Hussey1, P A Biagioni, P J Lamey
1Division of Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, Queen's University of Belfast, UK.
Objectives:
To use the technique of infrared thermography for non-invasive monitoring of temperature changes during polymerization of resin composite by measuring the infra-red emission from the surfaces of resin composite restorations during photocuring.
Methods:
In this study 10 patient volunteers had resin composite restorations placed in upper incisor teeth and during photocuring the temperature rise within the composite was measured using the Thermovision 900 infra-red scanning system.
Results:
The results demonstrate that the exotherm is almost instantaneous, occurring as soon as the light source is activated and rising to a peak at approximately 30 s before levelling off. The measurements suggest that a maximum temperature increase of 12 degrees C could occur, although this may only be for a short period (< 15 s).
Conclusion:
The range of temperature rise measured in this study (mean 5.4 degree C +/- 2.5 degree C) would suggest that the pulp may be endangered by the temperature rise which occurs during resin composite polymerization in vivo.