Abstract
Light-activated resin-based dental composites are increasingly replacing dental amalgam. However, these materials are limited by inefficient setting reactions as a function of depth that constrain the maximum extent of cure. Insufficient curing can contribute to an overall reduction in biocompatibility of the material. We demonstrate dynamic refractive index measurements of a commercial dental composite throughout cure using spectral domain low coherence interferometry. Our results show a linear relationship between the change in refractive index and polymerization-induced reduction in physical thickness during light-activated curing. This relationship between the optical and physical density demonstrates the potential of this technique as a unique noninvasive tool for measurement of the conversion degree of curing dental composite materials.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 014020 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Journal | Journal of Biomedical Optics |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2007 |