RESUMO
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The degree of light attenuation at the time of cementation of the PLV restoration depends on characteristics such as thickness, opacity and shade of the restorations, which interfere with light transmittance and, as a result, may decrease the total energy reaching the luting cement. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of conversion of light-cured resin cements measuring by FT-IR in regard to different thickness, light devices and curing time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the control group, a clear slide glass (1.0 mm) was positioned between the light cured resin cement and light source. The specimens of ceramics were made with IPS Empress Esthetic. The ceramics were fabricated with varying thicknesses-0.5, 1.0, 1.5 mm with shade ETC1. Rely X(TM) Veneer with shade A3, light-cured resin cement, was used. Light-activation was conducted through the ceramic using a quartz tungsten halogen curing unit, a light emitting diode curing unit and a plasma arc curing unit. The degree of conversion of the light-cured resin cement was evaluated using FT-IR and OMNIC. One-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test were used for statistical analysis (alpha< .05). RESULTS: The degree of conversion (DC) of photopolymerization using QTH and LED was higher than results of using PAC in the control group. After polymerization using QTH and LED, the DC results from the different ceramic thickness- 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm- did not show a significant difference when compared with those of control group. However, the DC for polymerization using PAC in the 1.5mm ceramic group showed significantly lower DC than those of the control group and 0.5 mm ceramic group (P<.05). At 80 s and 160 s, the DC of light-cured resin cement beneath 1.0 mm ceramic using LED was significantly higher than at 20 s (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Within the limitation of this study, when adhering PLV to porcelain with a thickness between 0.5 - 1.5 mm, the use of PAC curing units were not considered however, light cured resin cements were effective when cured for over 40 seconds with QTH or LED curing units. Also, when curing the light cured resin cements with LED, the degree of polymerization was not proportional with the curing time. Curing exceeding a certain curing time, did not significantly affect the degree of polymerization.