DENTSPLY Caulk’s SmartLite® Focus® LED Curing Light
Helping to ensure correct light curing in all areas and the deepest preps
Using a light-curing unit (LCU) is something that I do every day. I pay careful attention to my technique and use the LCU correctly because an insufficient cure can lead to reduced bond strengths, breakdown at the margins, decreased biocompatibility, increased potential for microleakage, and ultimately secondary caries and failure. The risk of inadequate light curing can be diminished if practitioners remember the acronym CORE (Curing light, Operator technique, Restoration characteristics, and Energy requirement) to ensure best performance and outcomes.1,2
One characteristic of LCUs that is often advertised is the output or irradiance. Just because an LCU has an advertised irradiance of 1400 mW/cm2, however, does not mean that is how much energy is making it into the composite to cure it. All curing lights demonstrate an energy drop-off over distance. If the average depth of a Class II restoration is approximately 6 mm, I need a LCU that can deliver energy over that clinically relevant distance.3 To provide clinicians with a LCU that can perform at distances that may be 6 mm or more away from the light guide and to help maximize curing efficiency, DENTSPLY Caulk has introduced the SmartLite® Focus®.
Some important features of this LCU are:
Improved access. The newly designed light probe maximizes intraoral access by providing a low head profile and long rotatable tip that can swivel 330° to achieve proper position anywhere in the mouth.
Maximized power and efficiency. The SmartLite Focus features a homogenous beam profile for uniform performance. Its optics reduce divergence and ensure enhanced energy transmission through a collimated beam, allowing efficient curing of surfaces up to 8 mm from the tip. It has an average output of 1,000 mW/cm2 at the tip and maintains much of that output over clinically relevant distances.
Convenient charging. Smart Recharge Technology checks the battery conditions and initiates the proper charging mode: “automatic quick charging mode” for 5 minutes of cure time with a 10-minute charge, “standard charging mode” for a full charge in less than 3 hours, and “standby mode,” which prevents overcharging.
Simple operation. It features a single-button, 20-second curing cycle and ergonomic design, weighing only 90 g.
SmartLite Focus is an ergonomic, powerful, cordless, pen-style LED curing light for both direct and indirect restorative applications.
References
1. Price RB. Light energy matters. J Can Dent Assoc. 2010;76:a63.
2. The Four CORE™ Variables. BlueLight Analytics website. www.curingresin.com/scientific-evidence/the-four-core-variables. Accessed July 23, 2014.
3. Hansen EK, Asmussen E. Visible-light curing units: correlation between depth of cure and distance between exit window and resin surface. Acta Odontol Scand. 1997;55(3):162-166.
Key Takeways
-- Has an average output of 1,000 mW/cm2 and cures efficiently up to 8 mm from the tip
-- Maximizes intraoral access by providing a low head profile and long rotatable tip that can swivel 330°
-- Smart Recharge Technology checks the battery conditions and initiates the proper charging mode
-- Features a single-button 20-second curing cycle and ergonomic design, weighing only 90 g
For more information, contact:
DENTSPLY Caulk
800-877-0020
www.smartlitefocus.com
About the Author
Timothy M. Bizga, DDS, is a general dentist and dental implant specialist practicing in Cleveland, Ohio.
