The carrier of the specimen was clamped in a custom-made holder which allowed to press a 5 mm wide and 4 mm high silicone tube on the flat dentin surface. This enabled the stable placement of the composite in one increment. The surface was flattened using conventional modelling instruments.
According to their group, the composites were light cured with either low- or high-irradiance. Thus, each composite was cured for 3 s at 2850 mW/cm2 (Bluephase PowerCure, Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein; emission wavelength range: 385–515 nm) or for 10 s at 1160 mW/cm2. The tip of the light guide locked in the opening of the custom-made holder. This ensured keeping a distance of 1 mm to the composite buildup.
The radiant exitances were periodically controlled using a calibrated dental radiometer (FieldMaxII-TO, Coherent; Santa Clara, CA, USA). The specimens were dark-stored in tap water at 37 °C during 24 h before μTBS testing.