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The results of a recent article published in the British Dental Journal has shown that disposable infection control barriers may affect the power output from dental light curing units (LCUs) and light curing tips (Br Dent J. 210(8):358-359). Author S Dunne, of the King’s College London Dental Institute, reports that repeated testing involving five different disposable barriers showed that there were differences between brands in how they reduced light output intensity.

One barrier type is reported to have reduced power output by up to 30-40%. And physical damage to the light curing tips (LCTs) also reduced power output by another 20-30%. Three of the five disposable infection control barriers did not affect the efficiency of the power output of the light curing tips.

The author concludes that “infection control measures should be carefully considered before use to avoid undue effects on power output delivered from the LCUs/LCTs to ensure that the degree of polymerisation within the resin-based composite and curing efficiency are not affected unduly”

Submitted by Dr Jeff Burgess, Editor in Chief