Efficiency of light-emitting diode and halogen units in reducing residual monomers

Introduction In this in-vitro study, we aimed to compare the residual monomers in composites beneath brackets bonded to enamel, using a light-emitting diode (LED) or a halogen unit, and to compare the residual monomers in the central to the peripheral areas of the composite. Methods Twenty bovine teeth preserved in 0.1% thymol were used in this study. Ten teeth were used to standardize the thickness of the composite film, since different thicknesses would cause different absorbance of light. Brackets were bonded to 10 bovine incisors, with the halogen light (n = 5) and the LED (n = 5). The brackets were debonded, and the remaining composite on the enamel surface was sectioned in 2 regions: peripheral (0.8 mm) and central, resulting in 2 subgroups per group: central halogen (n = 5), peripheral halogen (n = 5), central LED (n = 5), and peripheral LED (n = 5). The spectrometric analysis in the infrared region was used to measure the free monomers with the attenuated total reflectance method. Results Normal distribution was tested by using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Data were compared by 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P