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Wednesday 17 April 2013

Depth of cure of composites - acetone/ethanol shaking test

This method is based on the ISO 4049 standard. An important difference is that the uncured material is dissolved in acetone or ethanol instead of being removed with a spatula. The acetone shaking test was used and explained in a paper by Kleverlaan and De Gee (Eur J Oral Sci 2004;112:84–88). Equally effective is ethanol according to Miletic et al. (Serb Dent J 2012;59(4):190-197).

The image is a step by step explanation. A material complies with the ISO requirements if the remaining thickness of the specimen divided by 2 exceeds 1.0 mm for opaque shades and 1.5 mm for all other shades. Since manufacturers' recommended layer thickness is often 2.0 mm this reference may be used as well.

The acetone/ethanol shaking test is a simple yet reliable method of testing the efficiency of light-curing units and curing conditions used in clinical practice (e.g. time, distance). It may also be used to compare various composite materials/shades.







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How to measure the depth of cure of composites according to ISO 4049?