Temperature of composite resin

The temperature of any material hastens its setting and breakdown. Composite resin has the desirable property of being command set with our curing lights so the temperature variations with composite resin are mainly to affect its handling properties.

Too cold: Composite that is too cold will be thicker and more crumbly. Arguably this is beneficial to allow you to pack composite against a matrix band to generate a tighter contact that will stay in place while you cure. However the fact that it comes out of the capsules and tubes crumbly ensures that it will be impossible for you to avoid incorporating a void in your restoration. The most crumbly part tends to be right at the nozzle which is also the part exposed to air and likely to dry out over time. This will likely be the part that is placed at the very base of your restoration hence the most important to getting a good seal at the tooth interface. You will find it is very difficult to squeeze cold composite out of a compule so generally due to these properties, cold composite resin is counter productive.

Room temperature: The material properties here are fine but not exceptional. Room temperature composite resin won't be crumbly and will flow better than cold composite but it is still a challenge to adapt it to small nooks and crannies in the tooth preparation and it has slightly poorer wettability compared to a heated composite.

Heated composite: Heated composite will be very flowable which is ideal for filling large cavities. It tends to wet a surface better and so won't tend to incorporate as many voids as a room temperature composite will. You have to be careful not to heat the composite for too long or reheat it multiple times as this can degrade the material properties and affect your final restoration. You must ensure that when using heated composite the pressure you apply to the composite syringe is lighter than usual or it will flow everywhere and make a mess.