Background: The degree of conversion of dental adhesive is an important parameter since poor mechanical properties are related to low percentage of monomer-to-polymer conversion within resin-based materials.
Objectives: To evaluate the influence of polymerization time and light guide distance on the degree of conversion (DC) of three contemporary dental adhesives.
Materials and methods: The spectral data of ExciTE DSC, Single Bond ® , and Adper ® Prompt L-Pop were analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy after 20 s, 40 s, and 60 s of photoactivation times. Light tip distances were kept at 1, 3, and 6 mm during the exposures.
Statistics: Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey's test (α = 0.05).
Results: Within groups, greater DC values were found using a tip distance of 1 mm or a 60-s curing time for Single Bond ® (59%) and Adper ® Prompt L-Pop (65%). No statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was found using either 1 mm or 3 mm tip distances after 20 s, 40 s, and 60 s of light curing time for Single Bond ® . ExciTE ® DSC showed the greatest DC values with light tip distances of 1 mm (90%) and 3 mm (89%), using 60 s of light curing.
Conclusion: The self-etch adhesive Adper ® Prompt L-Pop could be applied in shallow cavity preparations and must be light cured for at least 40 s. The light-cured total-etch adhesive ExciTE ® DSC could be applied in every restorative scenario if the curing time is extended up to 60 s or if the tip distance is extended up to 3 mm.