The light-curing unit: An essential piece of dental equipment

Introduction:This article describes the features that should be considered when describing, purchasing and using a light-curing unit (LCU).Methods:The International System of Units (S.I.) terms of radiant power or radiant flux (mW), spectral radiant power (mW/nm), radiant exitance or tip irradiance (mW/cm2), and the irradiance received at the surface (also in mW/cm2) are used to describe the output from LCU. The concept of using an irradiance beam profile to map the radiant exposure (J/cm2) from the LCU is introduced.Results:Even small changes in the active tip diameter of the LCU will have a large effect on the radiant exitance. The emission spectra and the effects of distance on the irradiance delivered are not the same from all LCUs. The beam profile images show that using a single averaged irradiance value to describe the LCU can be very misleading. Some LCUs have ‘hot spots’ of high radiant exitance that far exceed the current ISO 10650 standard. Such inhomogeneity may cure the resin unevenly and may also be dangerous to soft tissues. Recommendations are made that will help the dentist when purchasing and then safely using the LCU.Conclusions:Dental manufacturers should report the radiant power from their LCU, the spectral radiant power, information about the compatibility of the emission spectrum from the LCU with the photoinitiators used, the active optical tip diameter, the radiant exitance, the effect of distance from the tip on the irradiance delivered, and the irradiance beam profile from the LCU.

引言：本文描述了在描述、购买和使用光固化装置（LCU）时应考虑的特性。 方法：使用国际单位制（S.I.）中的辐射功率或辐射通量（毫瓦）、光谱辐射功率（毫瓦/纳米）、辐射出射度或尖端辐照度（毫瓦/平方厘米）以及表面接收到的辐照度（同样以毫瓦/平方厘米为单位）来描述LCU的输出。引入了使用辐照度光束轮廓来绘制LCU的辐射曝光量（焦耳/平方厘米）的概念。 结果：LCU的有效尖端直径即使有微小变化，也会对辐射出射度产生很大影响。所有LCU的发射光谱以及距离对所传递辐照度的影响并不相同。光束轮廓图像表明，使用单一的平均辐照度值来描述LCU可能会产生很大误导。一些LCU存在辐射出射度很高的“热点”，远远超过现行的ISO 10650标准。这种不均匀性可能会使树脂固化不均匀，还可能对软组织造成危险。文中提出了一些建议，有助于牙医购买并安全使用LCU。 结论：牙科制造商应报告其LCU的辐射功率、光谱辐射功率、关于LCU发射光谱与所用光引发剂兼容性的信息、有效光学尖端直径、辐射出射度、尖端距离对所传递辐照度的影响以及LCU的辐照度光束轮廓。