The hardness value of polished surface in this study
was within the range of values of another study.11 In
our study, the celluloid strip–finished surface achieved
the same hardness as polished surface after 6 days of
light curing, even though it had a lower hardness value
compared with the polished surface in the early
postcure period. Thus, if chemical or mechanical stress
occurred in the early postcuring period, the celluloid
strip–finished surface would have exhibited less resistance
to discoloration or wear. If the restoration is to
be finished with the celluloid strip, the patient should
be advised to avoid disclosing food, chemicals, or
mechanical stress on the composite in the early
postcuring period. In a discoloration study by Hachiya
et al,2 the composite surfaces polymerized under a
matrix discolored more than the surfaces polished 48
hours after light curing. In our study, the early exposure
of the celluloid strip–covered surface to the disclosing
solution may have affected the results. If the
exposure of the celluloid strip–covered surface to the
disclosing solution was delayed to 7 days after light
curing, the result would be different. However, further
study about the discoloration of composite surface will
be needed to support this postulation.