Buyers Guide: Dental Curing Lights

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What I Need to Know
The Questions to Ask
Definitions

Dentalcompare

Clinical Director

Curing Lights Get Better With the Shift to LEDs

No matter how many improvements we see in bonding technology, one piece of equipment is essential to making it all happen—the dental curing light. Halogen lights were the most popular curing option for years, and they’ve proven themselves to be a reliable part of the treatment room. However, the problem with halogen dental curing lights is that they ran hot, and required a noisy fan to cool them down. They also required a large gun configuration, and needed a cord to the base station in order to work.

The most popular curing lights today are now using LED technology. This allows the lights to run on a battery charge which eliminates the need for a cord and provides greater freedom of movement while you are working. Because the LED’s are small, the lights themselves have slimmed down, and these sleeker designs make them more comfortable to hold. Even better, LED lights operate with far less heat than their halogen predecessors, and therefore they run cool and whisper quiet in your operatory.

A key detail when evaluating LED curing lights is the wavelength of light emitted. LED’s tend to have a more specific wavelength than their halogen predecessors. Many newer curable materials have photoinitiators designed to respond to just a narrow range of light wavelengths as well, so the most important thing to consider when looking at LED curing lights is to make sure the light you choose works with the materials you choose to work with.

Output Power: The amount of light measured from a curing light is measured in mW/cm2. Most LED options have power greater than 1000 mW/cm2, and will do a great job of curing your materials. The higher the output, the faster something will cure, and potentially be able to cure at greater depths.

Output Wavelength: Halogen lights always had the benefit of pumping out a broad spectrum in terms of the wavelength of the light emitted. This meant they could be compatible and cure any dental bonding materials. LEDs tend to have a more concise wavelength. One of the most important things to know is whether or not the wavelength being emitted will be compatible with the photoinitiator in your existing materials.

Programmed Modes: Depending on the procedures you perform in your office, you may want a light that has variable curing modes. Low curing settings can help to reduce shrinkage or be gentler to pulp tissue in the case of deeper restorations. Ramp modes are also available, starting off at lower output and slowly increasing to the highest output. It will also help to have a light that allows you to set variable times to be the most compatible with you materials.

Tip Angle: Be aware of the angle of the tip. Whether you work on young kids or adults, the light should be able to reach the occlusal surface of a back molar with the light flat against the tooth surface for maximum curing. A light that is off-angle will not cure as well as one that shines directly on the restoration.

Tips Available: Depending on your application, you may want a light with interchangeable tips, such as a smaller tip to tack cure veneers for easy cleanup of resin cement.

Construction: The style of the light should fit well in your hand, and allow you to cure various quadrants in the mouth. A tip that rotates is exceptionally helpful in making sure you can gain adequate access. Also be aware of where the buttons are placed, either as a traditional finger trigger, thumb activation, or in some cases dual buttons to allow both control styles in the same curing light.

Battery Life: Choose a light that will work with your schedule. The battery life should last through your schedule without needing to recharge halfway through a procedure.

		
			Questions to Ask
	
What tips are available? Are the tips at a good angulation for proper access?
What is the battery life of the light?
If cordless does the light work while being charged?
How long does it take for the light to achieve a full charge?
What is the output wavelength? Is this wavelength compatible with my existing materials?
Does the light feel ergonomically comfortable in my hands and my assistants’ hands?
Are the trigger buttons located in the right places?
Do I need alternate program modes, and does the light have them?

Curing – The toughening or hardening of a polymer by cross linking of polymer chains often encouraged by an outside stimulus.

Halogen Light – An incandescent light that combines a halogen gas with a tungsten filament.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) – A semiconductor-based light source that can be small and powerful with little excess heat generation.

Photoinitiator – A chemical compound that decomposes into free radicals when exposed to light and thus helps spur chemical reactions such as curing of a dental material.

Wavelength – A measurement of the distance over which a shape repeats. In the case of light different colors of light, both visible and invisible, correspond to different wavelengths.