Dental curing light

Curing Lights are special lamps, with their blue light in dentistry curing takes place ( polymerization ) of composite fillings. The light sources used are halogen light bulbs or light emitting diodes ( LEDs). Furthermore, a distinction is made between mains and battery operated devices. The latter are ( as wireless) flexible to use.

Must Curing a cold light (cold light source) produce. The required high luminance for curing of composite materials, the heat associated with the generation of light would otherwise cause damage to the dental pulp.

Halogen lamps

Halogen bulbs produce a lot of heat than incandescent bulbs. Your light yield is below one percent. Such devices must therefore be intensively cooled with a built-in fan. Halogen lights can over the course of two to five years strongly of their radiance.

LED lamps

Newer devices are often equipped with LEDs as light source. With a light yield of 7 %, they generate significantly less heat than halogen bulbs and use less power, so they can be used in cordless tools. LEDs also have over the years due to a decrease in luminosity. Blue LEDs emit at a wavelength of 450-490 nm and are therefore well suited for the photoactivation of camphorquinone.

Studies have shown that the manufacturer's specified luminance is often below even for brand new appliances, decreases sharply in the dental practice in everyday use and often only 50% of the specified luminance are available.

Crucial to the light yield is the distance between the lamp and filling., The light beam a cone shape from the light guide, therefore, the optical power to the square of the distance.

Conventional curing lights give the same when switching from full light output. In contrast, operating at the Softstartpolymerisation in the first 10 to 20 seconds with a reduced light output and only then automatically regulated up to full light output. The underlying theoretical concept, the reduction of the internal stresses in the composite, however, could not be confirmed [ in vivo ] still [ in vitro ]. Softstartpolymerisation not detrimental to the outcome, so long as sufficient optical power is given to the filling, but also involves no advantages.

Absorbed dose

The required energy dose for polymerisation of composite fillings is 12,000 to 16,000 mJ / cm ² ( 12-16 J / cm ²). A further supply of energy over this energy dose addition polymerization does not improve, it can only lead to a damaging increase in temperature on the tooth, which could lead to damaging the pulp.

The depth of the light falls within the composite filling exponentially, so deep fillings must be cured in several layers. Composite materials are different translucent; varied according to the maximum effective penetration depth of light from material to material.

Accurate measurement of the light intensity are possible with the integrating sphere. However, in practice the measurement is limited to a much less expensive radiometer, which is often integrated in the devices.