Odontological light-emitting diode light-curing unit beam quality

• Published in: Journal of biomedical optics Vol. 20; no. 5; p. 055005
• Main Authors: de Magalhães Filho, Thales Ribeiro, Weig, Karin de Mello, Werneck, Marcelo Martins, da Costa Neto, Célio Albano, da Costa, Marysilvia Ferreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers 01.05.2015
• Subjects: Analyzers; Beams (radiation); Cures; Curing Lights, Dental; Energy Transfer; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Gaussian; Homogeneity; Humans; Light; Light distribution; Light-Curing of Dental Adhesives - instrumentation; Lighting - instrumentation; Mathematical analysis; Mechanical properties; Optical fibers; Radiation Dosage; Radiometry - methods; Scattering, Radiation; Semiconductors; lasers; photopolymerization; composite resin; light-emitting diode; optics; light
• ISSN: 1083-3668; 1560-2281
• DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.20.5.055005

The distribution of light intensity of three light-curing units (LCUs) to cure the resin-based composite for dental fillings was analyzed, and a homogeneity index [flat-top factor (FTF)] was calculated. The index is based on the M2 index, which is used for laser beams. An optical spectrum analyzer was used with an optical fiber to produce an x-y power profile of each LCU light guide. The FTF-calculated values were 0.51 for LCU1 and 0.55 for LCU2, which was the best FTF, although it still differed greatly from the perfect FTF=1, and 0.27 for LCU3, which was the poorest value and even lower than the Gaussian FTF=0.5. All LCUs presented notably heterogeneous light distribution, which can lead professionals and researchers to produce samples with irregular polymerization and poor mechanical properties.