Effect of various post-curing light intensities, times, and energy levels on the color of 3D-printed resin crowns

Citra Dewi Sahrir; Muhammad Ruslin; Sheng-Yang Lee; Wei-Chun Lin

doi:10.1016/j.jds.2023.07.008

Effect of various post-curing light intensities, times, and energy levels on the color of 3D-printed resin crowns

J Dent Sci. 2024 Jan;19(1):357-363. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2023.07.008. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

Authors

Citra Dewi Sahrir¹, Muhammad Ruslin², Sheng-Yang Lee^{3

4

5}, Wei-Chun Lin^{1

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Dental Technology, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
³ Department of Dentistry, Wan-Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Center for Tooth Bank and Dental Stem Cell Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background/purpose: Current 3D-printing technology has been widely used for creating dental resin restorations. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of light intensity, time, and energy post-curing on the surface color of 3D-printed resin crowns. However, the influences of post-curing parameters on the restoration after printing still need to be explored. Therefore, this project investigates the effect of post-cure conditions on resin color.

Materials and methods: Specimens from single-crown (SC) and pontic (PO) specimens underwent post-curing at various light intensities (105, 210, 420, 630, and 860 mW/cm2) for 5, 10, and 15 min. Specimens were observed at three predetermined points and measured using a commercial spectrophotometer that utilizes the CIE Lab∗ color space. Subsequently, samples were analyzed for color differences (ΔE).

Results: ΔE color differences in evaluated samples were influenced by the light intensity, time, and energy post-curing. SC samples showed a significant color difference (P < 0.05), with the lowest value at 5 min of 16 (860 mW/cm²), while 10 and 15 min had a difference of 4 (210 mW/cm²). PO samples exhibited a significant decrease in the color difference (P < 0.05) at 5 and 10 min of 16 (860 mW/cm²), and at 15 min of 12 (630 mW/cm²).

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that exposing a resin crown to a high light intensity results in color stability and allows shorter post-curing times.

Keywords: 3D-printing; Color; Dental resin; Light intensity; Post-curing.