Influence of ultrasound or halogen light on microleakage and hardness of enamel adjacent to glass ionomer cement.

Background: The use of external sources of energy may accelerate the setting rate of glass ionomer cements (GICs) allowing better initial mechanical properties.

Aim: To investigate the influence of ultrasound and halogen light on the microleakage and hardness of enamel adjacent to GIC restorations, after artificial caries challenge.

Design: Cavities were prepared in 60 primary canines, restored with GIC, and randomly distributed into three groups: control group (CG), light group (LG) - irradiation with a halogen light-curing unit for 60s, and ultrasonic group (UG) - application of ultrasonic scaler device for 15s.