Introduction Heat is generated and transferred to the dentine-pulp complex during various dental procedures, such as from friction during cavity preparations, exothermic reactions during the polymerisation of restorative materials and when polishing restorations. For in vitro studies, detrimental effects are possible when intra-pulpal temperature increases by more than 5.5°C (that is, the intra-pulpal temperature exceeds 42.4°C). This excessive heat transfer results in inflammation and necrosis of the pulp. Despite numerous studies stating the importance of heat transfer and control during dental procedures, there are limited studies that have quantified the significance. Past studies incorporated an experimental setup where a thermocouple is placed inside the pulp of an extracted human tooth and connected to an electronic digital thermometer. Methods This review identified the opportunity for future research and develop both the understanding of various influencing factors on heat generation and the different sensor systems to measure the intrapulpal temperature. Conclusion Various steps of dental restorative procedures have the potential to generate considerable amounts of heat which can permanently damage the pulp, leading to pulp necrosis, discoloration of the tooth and eventually tooth loss. Thus, measures should be undertaken to limit pulp irritation and injury during procedures. This review highlighted the gap for future research and a need for an experimental setup which can simulate pulp blood flow, temperature, intraoral temperature and intraoral humidity to accurately simulate the intraoral conditions and record temperature changes during various dental procedures.

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the effect of light curing intensity and wavelength spectrum on heat generation and chemomechanical properties of bulk-fill composites. Methods Four bulk-fill restorative materials (Filtek bulk-fill, Tetric PowerFill bulk-fill, Beautifil Bulk restorative and Admira Fusion X-tra were used in this study. A total of 100 cylindrical specimens of each composite ( n = 25/group) were prepared, then cured using monowave light curing unit (LCU) with a single light intensity of 1470 mW/cm 2 , and polywave LCU with three different light intensities (1200,2100, 3050mW/cm 2 ). The temperature change during polymerisation was measured by five K-type thermocouples placed in each 1 mm layer from top to bottom. Hardness and degree of conversion of composites at each level were evaluated. Results were statistically analysed. Results The use of polywave LCU resulted in statistically higher peak temperatures ranging between 31.4–63.5 °C compared to the temperature generated by monowave LCU ranging between 29.5–60 °C ( p < .05). Curing using polywave LCU with the highest light intensity of 3050 mW/cm 2 caused the highest peak temperature irrespective of the composite types. There was no significant difference in hardness with different light curing intensities and curing times, regardless of the bulk-fill resin materials ( p > .05). A positive correlation was also found between the hardness and the DoC of the four bulk-fill composites. Conclusion The change in temperature during polymerisation of bulk-fill composites were found to be proportional to the increase in light curing intensity. Mechanical properties of the bulk-fill composites were dependent on the composition and the type of photoinitiators.