Effects of thermocycling on the degree of cure of two lingual retainer composites

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of thermocycling on the degree of cure (DC) and water sorption behavior of two lingual retainer composites. A total of 50 composite specimens, 5 mm diameter and 2 mm height, were prepared using Light Cure Retainer (R) (LCR) (Reliance) and Transbond Lingual Retainer (R) (TLR) (3M Unitek). After 40-second curing with a halogen light and after 24-hour water storage, the composite specimens were subjected to different thermocycling regimes. Absorbance peaks to monitor the DC were recorded using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, while water sorption was calculated in mu g/mm(3). On DC, significant differences among the different thermocycling regimes were observed only for the TLR specimens (p<0.05). On water sorption behavior, an increase in the number of thermal cycles resulted in increased water sorption for both composites, but the statistical differences in these groups were not significant. On the effect of thermocycling up to 20,000 cycles, present findings showed that LCR was less affected than TLR. Further, LCR exhibited higher DC and lower water sorption values than TLR after thermal cycling.