Influence of curing method and storage condition on microhardness of dual-cure resin cements.

This study evaluated the influence of curing method and storage condition on the microhardness of dual-cure resin cements: Panavia F 2.0 (PF) and Nexus 2 (NX). The specimens were either light-cured (LC) or chemically cured in darkness (CC). After 24 hours of storage in dry chamber (Dry) or distilled water (DW), the specimens were sectioned and polished. The microhardness of resin cement matrix was measured using a nanoindentation tester (ENT-1100). The data (n = 6) were statistically analyzed with t-test, two-way ANOVA (p < 0.05), and Tukey HSD test (alpha = .05). It was found that the factors of curing method and storage condition had significant effect on microhardness. For both PF and NX, LC presented higher microhardness than CC, while DW showed higher microhardness than Dry. In conclusion, dual-cure resin cements could achieve high degree of cure when light-cured. In addition, the microhardness of the resin cements evaluated did not decrease when kept in water.