Clinical Significance
All dental operators should observe safety precautions when using the tools of their trade. This includes curing lights, which can cause harm to the dentist’s eyes if protective gear isn’t worn. Dentists should
Dental amalgam is being phased out for restoring dental caries and replaced by adhesive materials. Most of these newer materials contain photoinitiators that are set by exposure to curing lights, usually light-emitting diode (LED)−based curing lights. Dentists are therefore exposed to the blue light from curing lights, which can cause eye damage. The risk depends on the lamp emission and radiative geometry, exposure time, degree to which the light is reflected, and use of adequate eye
In 2015 a pre-coded questionnaire was delivered electronically to the 1313 dentists in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in Norway. Response rate was 55.8%. Of these participants the ages ranged from 25 to 77 years (mean 42 years), most were women (69.6%), and they were nearly equally divided between small dental practices having 1 to 3 dentists (45.8%) and large dental practices having more than 3 dentists (54.2%).
The reported percentage of the working day spent placing restorations ranged from 10% to 100%, with an average of 57.5%. Most dentists light-cured a normal layer of resin composite for 20 to 29 seconds, with the longest time about 100 times higher than the shortest time. The 31 dentists reporting the highest irradiance for their curing lights cured a normal layer of composite for a mean of 28 seconds. The estimated light dose needed to cure one layer of composite differed significantly, with
This survey of Norwegian dentists revealed a knowledge gap and poor use of protective eye wear when using curing lights to set resin composite restorations. As a result, many are exposed to levels of irradiance higher than is recommended, which may lead to eye damage. Clinical Significance All dental operators should observe safety precautions when using the tools of their trade. This includes curing lights, which can cause harm to the dentist’s eyes if protective gear isn’t worn. Dentists should
Kopperud SE, Rukke NV, Kopperud HM, et al: Light curing procedures – performance, knowledge level and safety awareness among dentists. J Dent 58:67-73, 2017
Reprints available from EM Bruzell, Nordic Inst of Dental Materials (NIOM), Sognsveien 70a, NO-0855 Oslo, Norway; e-mail: [email protected]