title: Advances in light curing units and curing techniques: a literature review.
abstract: There exists a constant need for a dental curing light that works reliably and conveniently in the general practitioner's office and can be used effectively for all the different curing procedures. Due to the need for improved physical properties of resin based composites (RBCs) and less stress at the marginal interface, light curing units (LCUs) experienced significant advances in the past years. The dental industry has focused on reducing the curing time by developing higher intensity curing lights and by altering the resin composition and photo-initiator concentration. As a result the dentist can now choose from a vast variety of curing lights, light intensities and curing methods. This article presents a review of the advances in light curing units and curing techniques, as well as the scientific principles that guided past developments and that will influence future advances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Operative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Limpopo, Medunsa Campus.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oberholpez
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Botha
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: du Preez
mesh_terms: D003188:Composite Resins / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003748:Dental Equipment; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D006219:Halogens; D006244:Hardness; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D044367:Phase Transition; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods; D012666:Semiconductors; D014978:Xenon
chemical_list: D003188:Composite Resins; D006219:Halogens; D014978:Xenon