Light curing procedures–Performance, knowledge level and safety awareness among dentists
Objectives
This
study aimed to investigate dentists’ exposure to curing light and to
obtain information about the dentists’ knowledge on practical use and
technical features of their curing lights as well as their safety
awareness.
Methods
A pre-coded
questionnaire was sent electronically to all dentists (n = 1313) in the
Public Dental Service (PDS) in Norway in 2015.
Results
The
Response rate was 55.8%. The dentists spent on average 57.5% of their
working days placing restorations, ranging from 1 to 30 (mean 7.7, SD
3.6) restorations per day. The average length of light curing one normal
layer of composite was 27 s. The longest individual mean curing time
per day was about 100 times higher than that of the lowest. The mean
curing time for lamps of the lower reported irradiances was similar to
the time representing exceedance of international guidelines for limit
values for blue light to the eyes. Almost one-third of the dentists used
inadequate eye protection against blue light. The odds of using
adequate eye protection were significantly higher among young dentists
(p < 0.01). The majority of the respondents (78.3%) were unaware of
the irradiance value of their curing lights, thus rendering the curing
time uncertain. More dentists in this group did not perform regular
maintenance of their curing lights compared with all respondents (17.1%
vs. 3.3%, p < 0.01).
Conclusions
This
study revealed considerable variations among Norwegian dentists in the
Public Dental Service with respect to performance of light curing of
restorations, safety awareness and technical knowledge of the curing
light.
Clinical significance (max. 50 words)
The
questionnaire study identifies specific knowledge gaps among Norwegian
dentists with regard to curing lights and use of personal protection.
Today’s dependence on technology in dentistry necessitates that the
operator possesses knowledge of essential technical specifications and
safe use of devices and instruments routinely used in dental treatment.
Comments