Twelve month clinical performance of an ultra-rapid polymerization bulk-fill composite

Objectives: To measure the clinical outcomes of an ultra-rapid polymerization time bulk-fill composite in a prospective clinical trial following 12 months of clinical service.
Methods: 39 subjects requiring one to three Class I and/or II restorations participated in this study following IRB approval. Prepared teeth had adjacent and opposing contacts. All preparations and restorations were performed with the use of local anesthesia and rubber dam isolation. All preparations were measured with a periodontal probe. A liner was placed for preparations judged to be within 1mm of pulp. Adhese Universal bonding agent (Ivoclar Vivadent) was used in the total-etch mode and polymerized with a Bluephase PowerCure curing light (Ivoclar Vivadent) (power =3050mW/cm2) for 3 seconds. Tetric PowerFIll composite (Ivoclar Vivadent) was placed in 4mm increments with 3 seconds polymerization/increment with the Bluephase PowerCure curing light (power =3050mW/cm2). Restorations were finished with carbide finishing burs, and the one-step OptraPol polishers (Ivoclar Vivadent). Restorations were evaluated with FDI criteria at baseline (within 2 weeks of restoration) and 12 months following restoration.
Results: 39 patients were evaluated at baseline (68 restorations; 21% Class I and 79% Class II; 50% in premolars and 50% in molars). 34 patients were evaluated at 12 months (62 restorations).
See figure for FDI scores. At the baseline evaluation, there were 13 restorations (19%) with FDI post-operative sensitivity scores (FDI>1) (following occlusal adjustments, 11 restorations (16%) remained sensitive). At the 12 month evaluation, there were 3 restorations (5%) with FDI post-operative sensitivity.
Conclusions: At 12 months, the ultra-rapid polymerization time bulk-fill composite demonstrated over 95% good clinical performance (FDI 1 or 2) for all properties. There were two cases of post-operative sensitivity noted, however, neither patient desired alteration of their restoration.