Knowledge and Attitude of Dental Clinicians towards Light-Curing Units: A Cross-Sectional Study
Table 4
Comparison between general dentists and specialists on their knowledge towards their use of light-curing unit (LCU) and light-activated materials based on their experience.
Item
Experience (in years)
X2-value
value
<5 (n = 115)
5–10 (n = 85)
>10 (n = 110)
What type of LCU are you using?
Quartz-tungsten-halogen lights (QTH)
14 (12.2)
6 (7.1)
13 (11.8)
14.132
0.078
Plasma-arc lights (PAC)
1 (0.9)
2 (2.4)
6 (5.3)
Argon-ion lasers
0
2 (2.4)
2 (1.8)
Light-emitting diodes (LED)
64 (55.7)
53 (62.4)
47 (42.7)
Unsure
36 (31.3)
22 (25.9)
42 (38.2)
What is the proper term to describe the amount of power output of the LCU received over a defined area of resin-based dental material?
Radiant energy
22 (19.1)
24 (28.2)
22 (20.0)
6.938
0.327
Radiant power
10 (8.7)
6 (7.1)
9 (8.2)
Irradiance
12 (10.1)
3 (3.5)
14 (12.7)
Radiant exposure
71 (61.7)
52 (61.2)
65 (59.1)
Insufficient radiant exposure was found to be associated with which of the following’s properties of resin-based composite (RBC)
Low mechanical physical properties
100 (87.0)
74 (87.1)
106 (96.4)
7.119
0.028
More bacterial colonization
57 (49.6)
36 (42.4)
36 (32.7)
6.587
0.037
High bond strength
17 (14.8)
12 (14.1)
7 (6.4)
4.598
0.1
Better color stability
7 (6.1)
9 (10.6)
7 (6.4)
1.718
0.423
Location and morphology of the tooth can affect the position between the LCU tip and the resin material surface. The dentist should always aim to
hold the light-curing tip as close as possible to the restoration surface
79 (68.7)
62 (72.9)
81 (73.6)
0.717
0.678
hold the light-curing tip up to 10 mm
22 (19.1)
24 (28.2)
24 (21.8)
2.374
0.305
position the light-curing tip at 45-degree angle
25 (21.7)
16 (18.8)
21 (19.1)
0.346
0.84
position the light-curing tip at 90-degree angle
48 (41.7)
36 (42.4)
47 (42.7)
0.023
0.988
What is the new advancement technology in the latest LED which makes it different than other types of LCUs?
It generates monowavelengths
32 (27.8)
29 (34.1)
25 (22.7)
9.573
0.048
It generates polywavelengths
59 (51.3)
37 (43.5)
45 (40.9)
It has an advanced filter and ventilation fan
24 (20.9)
19 (22.4)
40 (36.4)
To overcome any clinical factor that might affect the reduction in power output, you might need to
store RBC material in a refrigerator before clinical application
47 (40.9)
46 (54.1)
53 (48.2)
4.029
0.402
increase the curing time more than manufacturer’s recommendation
