The development of polymer-based restorative materials represented a high improvement in how dentistry restorations are performed. However, it meant that dentists would have to acquire dental curing lights to activate and harden these materials.
Nowadays, the use of dental curing lights has become a standard practice among every dentist. They allow them to perform highly aesthetic restorations using composite resin. Furthermore, they also made it possible to perform inlay and onlay restorations and bond veneers to the teeth.
A dental curing light is a hand-held device that dentists use to light-cure determinate types of restorations and materials.
These devices emit a powerful light that activates and hardens polymer-based materials, such as composite resin. Therefore, they are vital to performing esthetic restorations.
Contemporary dental curing lights are integrated with a small screen and buttons. The dentist uses these buttons to browse through different settings and select the proper one for the restoration he is about to perform.
Usually, dentists can choose how much time the device will emit continuous light. Furthermore, some dental curing lights come with different modes and allow dentists to select the light intensity.
Additionally, dental LED curing lights are designed to be lightweight and ergonomic. Also, the head of the curing light is always small enough to comfortably fit inside the patient's mouth and reach restorations located even in the 3rd molars.
Currently, there are many brands and different types of curing lights for sale available in the market. Each dental curing light has unique features and characteristics. Thereby, checking their features before buying one is essential to ensure you get the right one for your needs.
The dental LED curing light is the most common type of light. However, other light systems have been developed over the years.
● Lampu UV:
This was the original system designed in 1970. These devices were quickly discontinued due to health issues. These lights caused tissue damage, eye damage, and composite resin color instability.
● Tungsten halogen curing light:
These devices are wired curing lights. They are powered by an electric motor. When the device is turned on, the electricity from the engine heats the tungsten filament and causes it to emit powerful light.
Halogen curing lights require a cooling system since the tungsten filament needs to reach high temperatures before emitting light. This also makes them noisy.
Due to the nature of these wired curing lights, the device's design is often large and bulky to accommodate everything they need to function.
● Dental LED curing light:
Dental LED curing lights are an enhanced version of halogen light. These types of lights are the most used nowadays.
They don't require as much energy to emit light. Therefore, these modern alternatives can function perfectly without a cooling system. After all, they don't heat up as much. Nonetheless, the blue light they emit is more powerful, making them capable of curing restorations more efficiently in less time.
Dental LED curing lights are powered by rechargeable batteries. This means that they are wireless curing lights.
These portable lights quickly became the predilect option of most dentists due to their comfortable design and powerful curing efficiency.
The light emitted by the device interacts with the polymers in the restoration material. These materials possess a certain degree of viscosity due to the polymers' separation.
However, the dental LED curing light causes these loose polymers to unify into polymer chains. As a result, the restoration material's viscosity changes and becomes a hard and solid material.
This process is possible due to a molecule called photoinitiators. These molecules can absorb specific light wavelengths to initiate polymerization.
For this reason, the light wavelength emitted by most dental LED curing lights ranges between 430 - 480 nm.
The dental curing light must guarantee to maintain the same potency over time to reach and polymerize the material's deeper layers. Nonetheless, dentists must be aware that this process can cause material shrinkage.
Masalah Kasalametan:
Dental LED curing lights are safe to use and harmless when used appropriately. Therefore, dentists must apply some safety measures to avoid injuring themself or their patients.
● Eye damage:
The eye's retina can absorb the wavelength emitted by the LED curing light. This can cause injuries to the eye.
Staring directly at the LED curing lamps can burn the retina. Therefore, the dentist must never stare at it. However, the eye can absorb the wavelength even when the light is not pointed directly at them. This can lead to eye damage over time.
To avoid it. The dentist must use safety glasses that filter the blue light and prevent it from reaching the eye. It is recommended to provide eye protection to the patient and other staff at the office.
● Heat damage:
LED curing lamps not only emit light but also cause heat. Moreover, the composite resin polymerization process also generates an exothermic reaction. In other words, it increases the temperature in the area.
While it doesn't pose an issue in most cases, it can affect the dental pulp when polymerizing deep restorations.
To prevent heat damage, dentists should avoid using the LED curing lamp for more than 20 consecutive seconds. Also, it is recommended to cool down the area with a direct airflow while curing the restorations. Lastly, the dentist should wait a few seconds before activating the LED curing lamp again.
Since there is a wide range of dental curing lights for sale, it is vital to look at their features to find one that matches your practice needs.
Some of the aspects to evaluate include the following:
● Umur batre
● Size and fit inside the oral cavity
● Dispersi panas
● The energy needed to effectively polymerize a restoration
● Range of light wavelength emitted
● Beam divergence and focus
● Heat dispersion system