Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether violet-laser diode (VLD) can be used as light-curing source. The ultimate (micro-)tensile strength (μTS) of three adhesives was determined when cured by VLD in comparison with curing by two different types of commercial LED light-curing units. One VLD (VLM 500) and two LED units (Curenos and G-Light Prima) were used to cure the adhesive resin of the two-step self-etch adhesives Clearfil SE Bond, Tokuso Mac Bond II, and FL-Bond II. A 0.6-mm thick acrylic mould was filled with adhesive resin and cured for 60 s. After 24-h water storage, specimens were trimmed into an hourglass shape with a width of 1.2 mm at the narrowest part, after which the μTS was determined (n=10). In addition, the light transmittance of each adhesive was characterized using a UV-vis-NIR spectrometer. No significant difference in curing efficiency between VLD and LED were observed for both Tokuso Mac Bond II and FL-Bond II (p>0.05). For Clearfil SE Bond, the μTS of VLD-cured specimens was higher than that of the specimens cured by the LED Curenos unit (p<0.05). Spectrometry revealed that this marked difference must be attributed to a different light transmittance of Clearfil SE Bond for visible blue light versus for the lower area of UV and visible violet light. In conclusion, A GaN-based violet laser diode can be used as light-curing source to initiate polymerization of dental resins.
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