The aim of this study was to evaluate: (i) the absorption of photo-initiators and emission spectra of light curing units (LCUs); and (ii) the degree of conversion (DC) of experimental composites formulated with different photo-initiators when activated by different LCUs. Blends of BisGMA, UDMA, BisEMA and TEGDMA with camphorquinone (CQ) and/ or 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione (PPD) were prepared. Dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) was used as co-initiator. Each mixture was loaded with 65 wt% of silanated filler particles. One quartz-tungsten-halogen - QTH (XL 2500, 3M/ESPE) and two lightemitting diode (LED) LCUs (UltraBlue IS, DMC and UltraLume LED 5, Ultradent) were used for activation procedures. Irradiance (mW/cm²) was calculated by the ratio of the output power by the area of the tip, and spectral distribution with a spectrometer (USB 2000). The absorption curve of each photo-initiator was determined using a spectrophotometer (Varian Cary 5G). DC was assessed by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Data were submitted to two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (5%). No significant difference was found for DC values when using LED LCUs regardless of the photo-initiator type. However, PPD showed significantly lower DC values than composites with CQ when irradiated with QTH. PPD produced DC values similar to those of CQ, but it was dependent on the LCU type.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the torque and detorque values of screw intermediates of external hexagon, internal hexagon, and Morse taper implants in single restorations before and after mechanical cycling. Materials and Methods: The study sample was divided into three groups (n = 10) as follows: group EH - external hexagon implant, group IH - internal hexagon implant, and group MT - Morse taper implant. Universal abutments were screwed on the implants, and metal crowns were cemented onto the abutment. The samples were submitted to a mechanical testing of 1 million cycles, with a frequency of 8 cycles per second under a 400 N load. The application and registration of the screw torque (T0) and detorque (T1) values of the intermediate were performed before and after the test. The results were statistically evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test (α = 0.05). Results: There was no difference between the values of T0 and T1 in the intra-group samples. However, the inter-group difference in T0 between the EH (12.8 N cm) and MT (18.6 N cm) groups and in T1 between the EH (10.4 N cm) and IH (13.8 N cm), EH and MT (19.4 N cm), and MT and IH (P = 0.001) groups were significant. The MT group showed a lower variation of T0 and T1. Conclusion: The internal implants, particularly MT, showed better stability in these cases when used for single restorations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different glass fiber posts (GFPs) diameters on the push-out bond strength to dentin. Forty unirradicular human teeth were endodontically treated and used for cementation of GFPs (White Post DC, FGM) with different diameters (n=10): P1 - ø 1.6 mm coronal x 0.85 mm apical; P2 - ø 1.8 mm coronal x 1.05 mm apical; P5 - ø 1.4 mm coronal x 0.65 mm apical; and PC - customized post number 0.5 with composite resin (Tetric Ceram A2, Ivoclair Vivadent). All GFPs were cemented into the root canal using a dual-curing luting composite (Variolink II, Ivoclar Vivadent). One slice (1.7 mm) of each root third of cemented GFP (cervical, middle, and apical) was submitted to push-out testing. Failure modes of all specimens were classified as: adhesive failure between resin cement and post; adhesive failure between dentin and resin cement; cohesive failure within resin cement, post or dentin; and mixed failure. The data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (a=0.05). The highest bond strength values were presented for the P2 and PC groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the GFP thirds in each group. The groups P2, P5, and PC showed predominantly adhesive failure. For P1, the most prevalent type of failure was adhesive between resin cement and post. It may be concluded that a glass fiber post that is well adapted to the root canal presents higher bond strength values, regardless of GFP third.

This study determined the influence of photoinitiator concentration on polymerization characteristics of experimental composites photoactivated by different methods. Composites based on BisGMA/TEGDMA and 65% of filler were prepared with the concentration of camphorquinone/amine C1-0.5%, C2-1%, C3-1.5%, and photocured using 4 methods: High-intensity (HI), Low-intensity (LI), Soft-start (SS) and Pulse-delay (PD). Were determined the degree of conversion (DC), depth of cure (DCure) and crosslink density (CLD). Data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). DC and DCure revealed that there were no differences among the photoactivation methods. C3 and C2 showed higher DC than C1. The CLD evaluation revealed considerable differences among the photoactivation methods. Photoinitiator concentration is a determinant factor in the polymerization characteristics of composites. Composite with low photoinitiator concentration show decreased DC and DCure, when compared with the composites with higher concentrations. Photoactivation methods had no effect on the DC and DCure. However, photoactivation methods showed differences when CLD was tested for composites with higher concentration of photoinitiators.