Influence of post-cure treatments on hardness and marginal adaptation of composite resin inlay restorations: an in vitro study

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Vickers hardness number (VHN) and the in vitro marginal adaptation of inlay restorations of three hybrid composite resins (Filtek Z250, Opallis and Esthet-X) subjected to two post-cure treatments. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the microhardness test, three different groups were prepared in accordance with the post-cure treatments: control group (only light cure for 40 s), autoclave group (light cure for 40 s + autoclave for 15 min at 130ºC); and microwave group (light cure for 40 s + microwave for 3 min at 450 W). To assess the marginal ad...