The American Dental Association (ADA) has published clinical guidelines for light curing in their February edition of the Professional Product Review — view them here.

These guidelines provide clinicians with clear direction on how to manage the growing complexities associated with the all-important process of light curing dental restorative materials.

These plain language clinical guidelines remind dentists that not all curing lights are equal, that they should regularly monitor and record the output of their curing lights over time, and that every brand and shade of dental material needs to receive a specific energy dose.

Bluelight Analytics’ CheckMARC service is specifically designed to make it easy for clinicians to do just that.

Traditionally, light curing instruction has been limited to five words — “…and then you light cure,” — according to Bluelight Analytics’ scientific advisor, Dr. Howard Strassler.

The moment that dentists realize that surface hardness is not an indicator of the degree of cure and that curing lights can stop being effective long before they stop emitting blue light, the importance of these clinical guidelines is driven home.

As stated by Dr. Jeffery Platt, Member of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs and Editor of Operative Dentistry, “The Consensus Statement addresses important issues to be considered every time that a light curing unit is used.”