Unique Original Articles » A guide to Light Curing

Not many people really enjoy trips to the dentist; it's fair to say we expect our appointments to be over as quickly as possible with minimum discomfort. Even when we're faced with treatment for fillings and composites, we're used to techniques such as light curing being used to make our time as brief and comfortable as possible.





Next time you're dreading your time in the chair, however, it's worth remembering that light curing wasn't even introduced until the early 1960s. Before the introduction of light curing resin composites, when we might have needed to spend much more time in the dentist's chair, as some readers might remember.





But what is light curing? Concentrate... here comes the science part! A dental curing light is a piece of equipment is used for polymerization of light cure resin based composites. More simply, it's an instrument that allows dentists greater control over the setting of special dental restorative materials. There's more to it, of course, but suffice to say light curing has changed the dental experience - for patients and dentists alike!





There are four basic varieties of dental curing lights; the Tungsten halogen and light-emitting diode (LED), plasma arc curing (PAC), and laser. The two main dental curing lights in operation today are the halogen and LED, with modern equipment providing dentists more options than ever.





Let's take Optident's Valo LED curing light as an example; this instrument claims to offer unsurpassed accessibility without compromising patient discomfort or curing efficiency. The Valo offers three curing options - standard power, high power and new plasma emulation mode with unique timing intervals to enable the dentist to choose the right power for any procedure.





Quoted on Optident's website, cosmetic dentist, Dr John Kanca says: "Valo is a fantastic piece of equipment. Clinicians no longer have to choose between normal output, high intensity output or the power of a PAC light because Valo offers all three in one lightweight, compact, durable unit. Valo's ability to produce the greatest amount of energy at distances up to 10mm from the tooth is just amazing. I have been using the light for some time and would not want to be without it."





Prior to the introduction of light curing, self-curing resin was used; once mixed and placed in the tooth, it hardened after 30-60 seconds. Of course, in this scenario, our dentists had no control over how swiftly the material would set - if it was not perfectly placed, it would have to be removed and the entire procedure started again. Thanks to light curing, today's light activated resins do not need to be mixed and can only be fully cured/harden with a dental curing light.





This presents new advantages for dentists AND patients. No time constraints and plenty of time to ensure the material is perfectly placed. It seems fair to say that light curing is one of the greatest advances in modern dentistry.




Andrew Sutton writes for many websites. His articles let you discover more about a wide range of subjects including Light Curing. You will find Andrew's articles around the internet. His main website is about Light Curing.


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