Objective:

The purpose of this study was to assess the temperature changes and cooling times during orthodontic bonding by a light-emitting diode (LED) and plasma arc lights (PAC) in different time and power modes with thermal imaging.

Methods:

A total of 100 human permanent upper first premolar teeth were included in the study. Five groups were conducted, 20 teeth each, and different energy outputs of curing lights were used for adhesive polymerization with different exposure times. The temperature changes in the pulp space and cooldown times were measured by a thermal imaging system. A paired t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Student-Newman-Keuls multiple comparison tests were used for data analysis.

Results:

A statistically significant temperature rise was detected with all curing lights (p<0.05). The greatest temperature changes were observed in the LED standard mode with 10 seconds of exposure time (6.66±1.98°C) and LED extra power mode with 6 seconds of exposure time (6.50±1.64°C) among groups, while using PAC for 3 seconds created the smallest temperature increase (1.81±0.99°C). An application of the LED extra power mode for 6 seconds exhibited the longest cooldown time (205.91±47.48 seconds), and the shortest cooldown time was detected as 71.30±43.15 seconds with the PAC 3-second application.

Conclusions:

LED lights with an increased exposure time induced significant temperature rises, while no PAC light group exceeded the critical threshold value. The exposure time is more important than the energy output level of the light-curing system on temperature increments of the pulp chamber.

Keywords: Orthodontic bonding, dental curing lights, thermal imaging, pulp chamber, temperature change