Effect of mold type, diameter, and uncured composite removal method on depth of cure

Objective: This study compared the effects of mold material and diameter on the thickness of cured composite remnants and depth of cure (DOC) of resin-based composites (RBC). Material and methods: One Polywave® curing light was used to photo-cure two shades of the same “bulk-fill” RBC in 4, 6, or 10-mm internal diameter metal or white Delrin® molds. For 60 specimens, the uncured RBC was manually scraped away as described in the ISO 4049 depth of cure test. The remaining 60 specimens were immersed in tetrahydrofuran for 48 hours in the dark. Maximum lengths of remaining hard RBC and their DOC values were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey–Kramer post hoc multiple comparison tests (α = 0.05). Results: Specimen thickness and DOC were always greater using the white Delrin® molds compared to metal molds (p < 0.001). Increase in mold diameter significantly increased specimen thickness and DOC when made in the metal molds and in the 6-mm diameter Delrin® molds (p < 0.01). Increasing the diameter of the Delrin® molds to 10-mm did not increase specimen thickness or DOC. Sectioning and staining of specimens revealed an internal, peripheral transition zone of porous RBC in the solvent-dissolved specimens only. Conclusion: Mold material and internal diameter significantly influenced cured composite remnant thickness as well as depth of cure. The existence of an outer region of RBC that is hard, yet susceptible to solvent dissolution, requires further investigation. Clinical relevance: The depth of cure results obtained from a 4-mm diameter metal mold may not represent the true potential for evaluating composite depth of cure. A universally acceptable mold material and diameter size need to be established if this type of testing is to be useful for evaluating the relative performance of a given type of LCU and RBC.