Composite and adhesive dentistry have seen an explosion both in their use and in the science that has allowed them to become the most commonly placed restorative materials in a huge number of practices. Careful science and research from multiple sources has allowed tooth-colored materials to move from the realm of “pretty but unpredictable” into the category of “what I reach for first” for a large number of doctors.

There are several factors that can affect the longevity and overall success of bonded restorations. Among these factors are things such as: biologic contamination, oil contamination, voids on pulpal floor, incomplete bonding and over etching.

While one of the factors that has really changed in recent years is dental curing lights, and I don’t think they are factored in as heavily in the success or failure of bonded restorations as they should be.

Curing lights, and the science behind them, have seen amazing growth and changes in the last few years. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing things that have happened and why you should be aware of them.

We have seen an explosion in the amount of technology and the resulting equipment required to deliver it. If you’re lucky enough to have built a new office lately, you’ve been able to plan for this and avail yourself of more counter space. However, for many of us, that’s just not an option. This means the amount of countertop real estate is decreasing for the majority of offices.

Most of today’s composites use camphorquinone as the photoinitiator. This chemical, often referred to as CPQ, requires a specific wavelength (color) of light to trigger it into starting polymerization of the composite resin. Because LEDs can be fine-tuned to produce just a specific wavelength or range of wavelengths, these curing devices now produce light where every photon that’s produced can be used in the curing process. This translates to better and more efficient curing. Many non-LED curing devices, such as fast halogen lights, produce lots of photons that are wasted because they are outside the range used by CPQ.

LEDs are incredibly energy efficient. This translates into the dental equipments using less electricity than a device that uses some type of bulb with a filament. Interestingly enough, a bulb with a filament loses 90% of its energy as heat and generates only 10% as light.

Because LEDs are much more energy efficient, they don’t require nearly as much power. The result is that these devices can be powered by batteries rather than by AC current. This means a smaller footprint (see above), no cords, and being friendlier to the environment.